Out of the Shadows
by DarkHououmon
Summary: When the mind of a single individual is corrupted by a twisted fiend, a series of bizarre events unfold that no one could stop. Warning: a few light hints of slash Finished!
1. Attack at Night

Part I: The Mystery

It all be began with a rustle in the wind. The trees swayed to and fro, leaves sometimes popping off and catching the wind. A single leaf rested on the ground, silent and still as the air soon became. The stars twinkled in the moonlight, providing what little light was left during the dark night. Suddenly, the leaf was spun into the air as a sudden puff of warm air hit it. It spun around and landed back on the ground. The breath of air belonged to a large plant-eating dinosaur, a swimmer. The green dinosaur was laying on her side, mouth open as she took in breaths of air, and exhaled. Her large tail was moving slightly towards and away from her body. Her legs were jerking, and she was mumbling. She was having a dream.

She rolled onto her other side, and seemed to settle down. The wind picked up again, sending the leaf to soar even further away from the duckbill. It settled down next to a large tree. Without warning, a large foot smashed onto the leaf. When the leg was pulled away, there was a large footprint. In the center was the leaf, smashed into bits. The leg took another step closer to the sleeping dinosaur. A shadow of a large dinosaur fell onto the sleeping plant-eater.

The swimmer squinted her eyes as she slowly awoken from her sleep. She looked up. She could not make out the outline of the creature. All she could see was a shadow and a pair of white eyes staring down at her. "H-Hello?" She asked softly, narrowing her eyes to get a better look at the dinosaur standing before her. When the creature didn't replay, she got up onto her feet. "Hello?" She asked again. "Who is there?"

The creature grinned, showing a flash of white teeth, all of them long and pointed like swords. The swimmer felt terror fill her heart. She took a step back. It was some kind of large sharptooth!

"You're a sh-sharptooth..oh no no no..." She placed her hands on her face, and took a few steps back.

"Glad you realized that." The sharptooth spoke in a growly voice.

The swimmer's eyes widened. "You can speak...?" The sharptooth nodded, and advanced towards her. The swimmer, being an adolescent, knew that fighting the sharptooth could result in her death. She did the only thing she could think of: run.

"Where do you think you're going?" The angry creature took off running, his footfalls making loud booms as they hit the earth.

The swimmer didn't answer. Her heart was pounding and her breathing quickened as she tried to evade the sharptooth. She forgot that they were in the Great Valley. She forgot that sharpteeth could not get in. All that filled her mind now as terror and dread.

She tripped over a large root that was rising out from the ground. With a painful snap, she fell to the ground, rolling in the dirt and coming to a stop a few feet away. She gasped as the shadow fell upon her once more.

"Can't run anymore, now can we...?" He grinned toothily, making the swimmer shudder with fear. He started advancing towards her again when suddenly a loud bark caught his attention.

"STAY AWAY FROM HER, SHARPTOOTH!"

"Oh crud..." The sharptooth cursed as he saw a charging three horn headed his way. He glared back towards the swimmer. "We'll finish this later, Ducky."

Ducky gasped. "How did you..." But the sharptooth vanished into the night.

The three horn came to a stop by Ducky's side. "You all right?" The swimmer looked up at the three horn and smiled gratefully.

"I am fine. Thank you Cera."

Cera smiled gleefully. She hasn't changed much in all these years. Her horns weren't fully grown in, but she still loved to show them off. "Glad I could help." She looked in the direction the sharptooth disappeared in. "Dunno how he got in, but if he shows up again..."

Ducky interrupted her friend. "Something was different about him, yep yep yep."

"Oh really? What?"

"He could talk." She said softly. Before the shock could register in Cera's mind, Ducky added in, "And he knew my name..."

Elsewhere, looking down at them from a high mountain, stood the same creature that harrassed Ducky earlier. His white eyes had red irises in them, and the moonlight revealed his skin to be bluish or grayish. He flexed his small clawed hand, and he scowled at the plant-eaters that were chatting in the field he had been in recently.

"We will meet again, Ducky. Mark my words..." He turned around and disappeared again just as the wind was picking up once more and sending more leafs into the air. They performed a mid-air circle where the sharptooth was standing. And then all was silent again. 


	2. Meeting

Part I: The Mystery

Cera was trying to make sense of it all. A sharptooth that could talk AND knew her friend's name? "How could he have possibly have known..." Her voice trailed off as a thought crossed her mind. She quickly dismissed it, and looked again at her swimmer friend.

"I don't know how he knew." Ducky sighed, laying back down on the ground. "But perhaps we should tell everyone this tomorrow."

Cera nodded. "Yeah, good idea." With that she turned and walked away. Ducky closed her eyes and slept undisturbed for the rest of the night. The wind never blew again all night.

By morning, Ducky awoke to the sound of voices clamoring. She groggily opened up her eyes and found herself staring at Petrie. She yelped in surprise and the flyer was knocked back a few inches.

"Hey, watch it! Me am your friend, remember?" He brushed himself off. Petrie had grown into a strong flyer, but he still spoke like he was a child.

Ducky blushed and immediately apologized. "I'm sorry Petrie. I didn't know that was you. Nope, nope, nope." She grinned nervously.

Petrie smiled. "Oh forget about it." The smile faded. "Cera tell me that you attacked by sharptooth." Ducky nodded, the smile having faded off her beak as well. "And she said it talk. Is that true?"

Ducky rubbed her arm and sighed as she remembered the details of what happened that night. "Unfortunately yes, yes, yes."

Petrie looked at his friend sympathetically. "Me sorry." He stretched out his wings. "Time for us to go to the others. They know what happen." He took off, flying towards the center of the Great Valley where the meetings were held.

The swimmer climbed to her feet, stretching out her limbs, and yawned. "Better follow him." Ducky took off running after Petrie.

The trees were swaying in soft wind again, but gentler than they had at night. A few rocks rolled off the small rocky hill that lay in the middle of the valley. The small rocks landed on top of something soft and green. But instantly, a foot was scratching it off.

(Author's note: I got really bored, so that explains how I have Spike acting in this chapter. ; )

"Man, messa hate the rock." Mumbled a voice. It was Spike. Almost fully grown, his plates and tail spikes hadn't fully come in. He also hadn't learned to speak properly, as he hadn't had much practice. He know regretted it. "Me me gonna kill dem all!"

Ducky, standing beside him now, chuckled. "How are you going to kill something that's not alive?"

"Crush dem till de blood comes out." Spike grinned.

"But you can't...oh nevermind." Ducky decided not to spoil her step brother's fun. She watched as Spike's tail smashed the rocks into powder. Ducky shook her head. "Never was very bright." She whispered inaudibly.

Mr. Threehorn cleared his throat loudly. It was loud enough that everyone in the valley could hear it. They all stopped chattering and waited for him to speak. Mr. Threehorn was an old timer now, but he hasn't lost his toughness. When Littlefoot's grandparents died a month ago, Topsy the Threehorn was given the right to be the leader. He was chosen because his sometimes rash decisions usually helped the survival of the valley.

"Ducky, you say you saw a sharptooth?" He asked huskily but gently.

Ducky nodded. "Yes, yes, yes, Mr. Threehorn. He attacked me in the middle of the night."

Topsy nodded his head once. "I thought I saw a sharptooth's shadow earlier. But I wasn't sure." He turned his head to the crowd. "Anybody have any idea how the sharptooth got in?"

Nobody answered for several minutes. Then one longneck took a step forward. The old threehorn recognized him as Littlefoot.

"Yes Littlefoot...?"

"I heard something that sounded like someone whacking their tail against rock last night." He looked at Spike and shook his head. "It wasn't Spike. He was asleep at the time. Suddenly there was the sound of rocks falling down. I wasn't sure where the sound was coming from."

Mr. Threehorn glared at Littlefoot. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"Mr. Threehorn, I didn't tell anyone because I didn't..." He was interrupted by Cera.

"Nevermind if he didn't tell or not, father. Shouldn't we concentrate on the subject at hand?" Cera was no longer intimidated by her father, and looked as if she could beat him in a duel.

Her father nodded. "Yes..." He turned to Ducky. "And didn't you say he could speak? And knew your name?"

Ducky nodded. The crowd of dinosaurs broke out into murmurs and whispers. A talking sharptooth was unheard to them. Well unheard to most. Five of the dinosaurs in the crowd have met a talking sharptooth, but had no idea that there was another one out there somewhere. And now that sharptooth as arrived in the valley...

A pair of eyes watched the crowd. It lay hidden in vines and trees, the leaves and bark obscuring his shape. The pupils dilated, and bright teeth glittered in the noon sun. It was the sharptooth that attacked Ducky that night.

His large hulking shape was revealed by his shadow. He was a large sharptooth, similar to the one that killed Littlefoot's mother. His red eyes fixed onto a certain flyer. He narrowed his eyes, and bared his teeth. "You're going to be the first one to go, Petrie." He then turned to look at Ducky, who's eyes were full of worry about the situation.

The sharptooth couldn't help but smile at her worryness. "And don't worry, my dear. I'll give him a quick death...and then rip out your throat!"

The ground shook lightly as the sharptooth walked away. The vibration of his feet hitting the ground caused some of the tree stars to fall slowly to the ground. Almost instantly, one of the tiny dinosaurs that Littlefoot became friends with showed up. It sniffed the leaf, and then grabbed it in its mouth. Like a mouse, it scurried across the forest floor to reach its home.

Suddenly, just as it was about to jump back into the hole, a set of jaws clasped around its tiny body. It squealed for help, but the jaws just closed around it. A painful yelp was let out before it died, its blood staining the sharptooth's mouth. The dead dinosaur was tossed into the air, and was soon swallowed by the sharptooth.

"Don't fill me much, but it'll have to do." The sharptooth then vanished, his foot smashing the tree star into bits.

Littlefoot's head suddenly lifted up and looked in the direction the sharptooth was just in. He couldn't see the sharptooth, but his ears had detected a scream.

Spike looked at his friend. "What it, Littlefoot?"

"I thought I just heard Dusty..." 


	3. The First Strike

Part I: The Mystery

The news of Dusty's death swept quickly among the valley. The reason for it spreading so quickly was not because it was a typical sharptooth attack. Most sharpteeth eat as much as they could without and then leave. But whatever sharptooth did this had swallowed her whole and spat up her entire skeleton in a different location. It was discovered by her old father, Big Daddy. The first to figure out what happened was Petrie. Then he told his friends, who told their folks, who told other dinosaurs in the Great Valley.

Cera was especially hard hit. She and Dusty had gotten close since the day they met. When she found out, she was heartbroken, and not even her father could help her. Littlefoot could only watch sadly as she would sit near the small opening where she had first met Dusty.

One day, Littlefoot decided to approach Cera. Perhaps a little talking will do her some good. It always worked for him, when his grandparents were still alive. But since their death, Littlefoot had grown much more responsible, and could easily look after himself.

As he approached Cera, he could hear her mumbling something as though she were asleep. As he got closer to her, a sudden breeze sent a dead leaf hurling into his face. He yelped in surprise, and the threehorn lifted her light tan head off the ground, and looked to face the young brown longneck.

"What do you want?" She asked huskily, turning her head away.

"I'm...sorry." He croaked.

Cera looked at him sharply. "You? Sorry? About what?"

Littlefoot hesitated. "About Dusty..."

Cera's eyes softened and her frown had disappeared. "Yeah, that's what everyone had told me." The mourning threehorn had gotten support from several other dinosaurs, including her father and Tria, who was now her father's new mate and her new mother. "I just wish I could've done something... I mean... sh-she was my-my best friend..." The threehorn made no attempt to hide the salty tears that now dripped from her green eyes.

"Oh, Cera..." The longneck whispered. "It wasn't your fault..."

"And what makes you think that!" The threehorn suddenly snapped, making the longneck back away a few inches. Littlefoot was startled by her temperature. "If I hadn't gone to that meeting, I could've...I could've saved her..." Cera lowered her head.

Littlefoot tried to approach her again, but Cera just turned around and charged at him. It was only a mock charge, but it was a warning for him to back away. Littlefoot sighed sadly. Cera really was taking this hard, even harder than he and the others were taking it. Littlefoot slowly turned around, and with one last look, he walked back into the forest.

Cera was left alone in the meadow. Her head rested on her front legs, and was tilted sideways. She closed her eyes and started to doze off. The soft grass that brushed against her skin served as a comfort for the inner pain that she was suffering.

About 2 days afterwards, during the middle of the night, Petrie was sitting back up in his nest. His mother, before she died from an illness, had showed him how to weave his own nest that he could sleep in. He was no expert, but it served him well. He laid on his back, wings outstretched to both sides of him, and his mouth was gaping open, tongue hanging out. He breathed in slowly, exhaling quietly.

His expression suddenly changed. Sweat starting dribbling down his face. His eyes were shut tightly suddenly, and his wings wrapped around his body as if trying to save him from some impending danger that could not be seen or heard, but only felt by the soul. "N-No.. No...no..." He stuttered in his sleep. "Me...no...me no... Me no wanna die..."

In his mind, he suddenly found himself in pitch darkness. He could not see anything except for a tall rock. Without thinking he started to fly over it. But as he did so, the rock suddenly dispersed into several large boulders. Screaming, he manuevered quickly to dodge each boulder, barely missing them all by a claw tip.

The boulders finally disappeared. The flyer seemed relieved. But it was short-lived. His mind was filled with horror and dread as he realized that he was flying straight into a sharptooth's mouth! "NO!" He did a backflip in the sky and the mouth snapped shut as he did so.

Petrie could see the grinning mouth of the sharptooth, and he gulped as he stared into the eyes. The red eyes with pupils that narrowed as they stared at him. There was a dribble of saliva that dripped down the predator's mouth. The sharptooth licked his chops and advanced forward.

"I love a snack." It chuckled, a steam of breath nearly causing Petrie to lose control of his flying.

"You no take me!" Petrie declared and he tried to escape.

"Oh, Petrie, you cannot escape me." Petrie's eyes widened with terror. How did he know his name? "None of you can escape..." The chilling haunting voice stuck to his mind and he was so frightened he couldn't even move. He could only watch as the sharptooth's jaws opened up and closed in around him, sentencing him to eternal darkness.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" The flyer screamed at the top of his lungs, disturbing a few close neighbors. "Sorry!" He said sheepishly. He heaved in and out, the color drained from his face. He felt his face, making sure he was all there. He looked at his feet. He was still in the nest.

He smiled slightly. "It...it only a dream." He would have been relieved if such an incident did occur. Petrie had an encounter with the sharptooth just the previous day. If it weren't for Cera, he'd be a goner. Cera was extremely hostile towards the sharptooth and somehow managed to strike him in the face. Petrie smirked mentally. That would give him a few nasty scars.

"Hey Petrie?" The flyer yelped and turned around.

"Who's there!" He looked down. "Oh, it only you, Littlefoot."

"Yeah. Anyway, what happened?" He used his head to point south. "I was sleeping over there and I heard you scream. Anything wrong?"

Petrie smiled nervously. "Scream? Me no scream."

Littlefoot narrowed his eyes. "Petrie..."

Petrie's smile faded. "Oh, it only a nightmare, Littlefoot. Me dreamt sharptooth killed me." He hesitated, and then continued. "See, me encounter sharptooth yesterday and..."

"YESTERDAY!" Littlefoot screamed in shock. Petrie gulped, and nodded. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Me no want you to worry."

"A sharptooth has invaded our valley. How can I not worry?" Littlefoot growled softly, but regained his composure. Now was not a good time to get angry. "Well, I'm glad you're okay." As he stomped away back home, he looked back at Petrie. "But Petrie, next time you see that sharptooth, please tell someone about it."

"But Cera knew..." Petrie said sullenly.

"I know, but other dinosaurs have the right to know, Petrie."

"Me understand."

The longneck smiled. "Glad to hear it. Goodnight, buddy."

"Goodnight Littlefoot." Petrie waved Littlefoot goodbye as the longneck returned home to sleep for the rest of the night.

The flyer looked up at the night sky. The twinkling stars filled the skies, and the large moon shone brightly. Suddenly a shooting star whizzed by. Petrie smiled as he watched it go by so fast. He curled up in the middle of his nest, and went back to sleep.

A few hours later, a shadow descended upon the nest. Petrie was in deep sleep and was unaware of what was going on. A pair of eyes glared upon his tiny form.

"And this time...Cera won't be here to save you..." He chuckled, and opened his jaws wide.

As he lunged forward, Petrie turned in his sleep and smiled. "Oh thank you, mama..." He whispered, as a shadow seemed to engulf his body. 


	4. Consoling and Missing

Part I: The Mystery

"Cera! Cera! Cera!"

The threehorn slowly opened her eyes. She had dreamt that the whole ordeal was just a dream, that the little tinysaur was still alive. But as she saw Lizzie, another dinosaur she had grown especially attached to, was running towards her with a sympathetic look, Cera knew, heartachingly, that the past was real.

"Oh, hello, Lizzie." She gave a weak smile before closing her eyes yet again. Lizzie came over and put her front legs on Cera's nose and gently pushed.

"You okay?"

Cera opened her eyes. "Of course I am, Liz. Now will you leave me be?" Cera looked away.

Lizzie shook her head. "Littlefoot told me you blame yourself for what happened. Why?"

"Why?" The threehorn's eyes filled with rage. "Because that stupid sharptooth killed Dusty and I could have stopped him!" The tinysaur took a step back, eyes wide with shock. Cera realized what she did, and let out a soft sigh. "Sorry, Liz..."

The tinysaur smiled inwardly. "That's okay, Cera." She walked right up to Cera's head, and nestled beside her. "It's okay to feel responsible, but it wasn't your fault." Before Cera could answer, Lizzie continued, "After all, how were you to know something like that was going to happen? How were you to know that Dusty would've gone above ground at that time? How were you to know that the sharptooth would be there?"

Cera hesitated for several moments. "Well...I..."

"You're not the only one who misses Dusty, Cera. We all do." Lizzie tried to hide her tears. "My father and I...we both miss her, very much. And so do my other siblings." She closed her eyes, and finally let the tears flow down her cheeks. She then looked up at Cera again. "But you cannot keep blaming yourself for what happened."

The threehorn couldn't give an answer. Instead, she simply looked away. She looked as though she was ignoring Lizzie, but in reality she was pondering her words. Perhaps Lizzie was right. Maybe she was being too hard on herself.

"I just wish I could've done something, though." She said sullenly.

"You're doing it again." Lizzie said a bit sternly.

Cera glanced at her. "What do you mean?"

"You're blaming yourself again. Listen, Cera, sometimes bad things happen and we can't do anything to change it." Lizzie was surprised at her own words, and decided to relax a little. "Dwelling on the past won't solve anything. All you can do is change the future."

Cera looked at the ground, then at Lizzie, then at the sky. She could see the rustling leaves in distant trees, and she could see that the sun had disappeared behind the mountain. After several silent minutes, she finally rotated her eyes in Lizzie's direction.

"I suppose you are right, Liz. I couldn't do anything about it. None of us could."

Lizzie smiled. "I hope you feel better soon."

Cera smiled. "Yeah."

Suddenly they were interrupted by a frantic Ducky. She came bursting in between two closely grown trees. "Cera! Lizzie!" She cried frantically as she dashed towards him.

Cera rose off the ground. "Ducky...?"

Ducky skidded and came to a stop in front of the young threehorn and tinysaur. She heaved in large breaths with difficulty, trying to calm down her speeding heart beat. "It's...it's...it's..." But she couldn't spit out the words.

Lizzie jumped off the ground and shouted, "What? What is it!"

Ducky opened her eyes. "It's Petrie."

Cera tilted her head. "What about him?"

"He's missing!"

Cera and Lizzie's brains registered with shock. "He's missing!" They cried in unison.

Ducky nodded, coughing into her hands. "Yes yes yes. I went to his nest to greet him, and he wasn't there!" She clenched her hands into fists. "There was no trace of him anywhere near the nest! It was as if he just... disappeared."

Lizzie and Cera looked at each other. "Disappeared...?"

Cera took a step forward. "Are you sure he's missing? Maybe he's just going to get a drink or something..."

But Ducky shook her head. "Even if that had been the reason for him not being there, I was waiting around there for a long time, yep yep yep. He never came back." She looked crestfallen. "I'm worried. Maybe he's lost somewhere."

Cera scoffed. "How could anyone get lost in the Great Valley?"

Lizzie stared angrily at her. "You'd be surprised."

Cera smiled nervously. "Whoops." She grinned. "Sorry."

"We must look for him. Yes yes yes." Ducky suggested. "I already told Littlefoot and Spike about it. They're off searching for him as I speak, yep yep yep."

Lizzie cleared her throat. "Should we help?"

Ducky nodded. "That would be of great help, guys. Spike and Littlefoot are searching there." She pointed west. "I'm gonna search there. "She pointed east. "And you guys can search there for a start. "She pointed north.

Cera and Lizzie nodded. "We're on it!" She lowered her head down and let Lizzie jump on. She stomped off towards the north part of the valley.

Ducky gave a small smile. "Thanks..." She whispered. "I must start searching myself, yep yep yep." She headed off into the east part of the valley. By splitting up, they would cover more ground. But Ducky realized, as Cera and Lizzie disappeared into the forest, that by splitting up, they would become more vulnerable to a sharptooth attack.

And as she made her way through the forest, she did not notice a set of footprints, nor did she realize that a set of eyes were watching her... 


	5. Interruption

Part I: The Mystery

A few branches were pushed down, snapping sometimes, and falling to the floor as a swimmer walked slowly through the thick forest. Vines hung lowly, and nearly tangled her in their path. She struggled, and managed to snap the vines with her hands. "There are so many green hangy thingies, yep yep yep..." She lowered her head to duck under a low hanging branch.

She suddenly stopped. Something didn't feel right. She rose her head in the air, and took in a few breaths through her nose. She sniffed the air, first in one direction, then another. "Hmm...that's strange. I could've sworn I smelled something." She shrugged, and continued walking along the narrow path produced by a large spiketail dragging its tail along.

There was a low growl that crept into the still air. Ducky froze in her tracks, body stiff. "Wh-Who's there...?"

Then she heard it, a dark chuckling voice, a hideous growling voice in the darkness. She whipped around to come face to face with the same sharptooth that attacked her a few nights ago. "You...?" She trembled, backing away.

The sharptooth had blue skin, with pale blue belly and snout. He had 3 claws on each hand, two horns on his head, and dark blue fins on his back. As he walked toward Ducky, he licked his lips. "Yes, it's me, Ducky." He grinned.

Ducky's breathing was quickening. "But how do you know me...?"

The sharptooth narrowed his eyes. "You mean you don't remember me?" Ducky shook her head. The sharptooth snarled. "How could you forget me!"

Ducky cringed at the sharptooth's outburst. "I-I-Is it bad I forgot...?"

He narrowed his eyes. The pupils narrowed as well. "In a way, yes..." He stomped forward a few steps. Ducky continued backing away. She couldn't help but realize that this sharptooth did look familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. The sharptooth shook his head. "But then again, I see it won't matter anyway..." His voice trailed off for a few seconds, then he spoke again, "Since you're going to be my lunch today..."

Ducky's eyes widened with horror. "No..no..no..." She starting backing up quickly, the sharptooth keeping in advance with every step.

"Yes..yes..yes..." The sharptooth taunted, opening his large mouth full of lots of pointy, sharp teeth ready to clamp down on the swimmer's young body.

Ducky turned around and ran.

"You won't escape me this time, swimmer!" He charged after her, his loud stomps shaking the ground.

Cera and Lizzie suddenly stopped their search for Petrie when they heard an ear-piercing scream coming from where Ducky had headed. "Ducky!" They shouted together. Cera turned around and charged towards the scream.

"Hurry, Cera! The sharptooth probably got to her!" Lizzie shouted.

Cera rolled her eyes. "Don't you think I know that?"

Lizzie didn't answer as they charged as fast as they could toward's the direction of Ducky's scream.

The sharptooth snapped at Ducky's hindquarters, barely missing by an inch! Ducky screamed again, tried to speed up. The sharptooth growled in frustration, and snapped again. He was so close to getting her that Ducky had to pick her leg up in the air and give the sharptooth a kick to the head.

Not a good idea, as Ducky found out the hard way. The sharptooth's skull was pretty hard. It was like kicking a rock. The sharptooth didn't seem to feel it, and continued charging, mouth wide open.

Ducky looked desperately for a way to lose the sharptooth. She looked for an escape route, but didn't find any. The paths were either to tangled to outrun the sharptooth or they had nothing useful to hide in. "I've...got...to...lose..him..." She panted.

"I've got you!" The sharptooth lunged forward with his jaws, trying to bite her neck! Ducky shrieked, and ducked. She then headbutted the meat-eater under his chin, causing him to topple backwards a little. Ducky took this advantage and ran off.

The sharptooth wasn't dazed for long. He shook it off, and growled angrily. "Nice try, but it wasn't good enough, swimmer!" The chase was on again.

Ducky was running a little slower, thinking she had lost the sharptooth. She was breathing heavily, trying to catch her breath. Her tongue stuck out to the side, and her eyes were partway closed. She then slowed to a walk, and leaned against an old tree.

"At least...I lost...the sharptooth..." She panted breathlessly.

"Oh, you really think so?" Her eyes grew big, and before she had any time at all to react, a hard head slammed into her side, knocking her across the ground. She coughed painfully, and looked up. It was the sharptooth again. He grinned as he walked slowly towards her. Ducky didn't have the strength to get up. She struggled a little, but fell back down. The blow to her side must've broken a few of her ribs.

"Please...don't..." She asked pleadingly.

"You know how it is, Ducky. Sharpteeth kill to eat, and you are what we kill..." He opened his jaws and started to lower them towards her neck to finish her off. Ducky closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the immense pain to come, but it never did...

The sharptooth cried out in pain as something slammed into his side. He fell to the floor, and quickly climbed back to his feet again. "Who dares interfere!" He snarled angrily. He took one look at Cera, and growled hatefully. "You..."

Lizzie ran towards Ducky as Cera stood her ground, brandishing her horns in front of the sharptooth. "Yeah, me!" She kicked dirt in the air with her front legs, and lowered her head. "And what are you doing hurting my friend?" She charged forward.

The sharptooth chuckled, and stood off to the side at the last second. The threehorn looked bewildered. She thought sharpteeth were supposed to be stupid. "How did you..." But she was cut off as the sharptooth raised his foot and kicked her in the side. The threehorn toppled over, and crashed into the earth.

"We sharptooth are not as dumb as you leaf-eaters think we are." He hissed through clenched teeth. "We are actually smarter than you."

Cera struggled to her feet. "Oh yeah...? We'll see about that!" She charged again. This time, as the sharptooth made the move, Cera twisted her head over, and managed to barely slice the sharptooth's side. The meat-eater cried out in pain, and stared at the thin gash the threehorn just made.

Cera smiled. "See?"

The sharptooth grinned. "That was...pretty good. But not good enough!" This time, it was his turn to make the first move. His body lowered and mouth opened, he charged towards the horned dinosaur. This time, he lowered his and met her horns with his own. They stayed locked for several minutes, then let go.

Lizzie watched in horror was Cera took on the seemingly intelligent sharptooth. "Oh Cera..."

"You're not so bad yourself..." Cera said before charged again. The sharptooth barely dodged. He opened his mouth and snapped at Cera, but she dodged.

The sharptooth lowered his head and ran towards the plant-eater. He pretended to charge her head. This would throw her off guard. As Cera tried to meet his charge with her own, he quickly manuevered himself over, and slammed one of his horns into her shoulder.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Cera cried out in agony. Blood poured out of the wound, and she felt her leg buckle and she fell to the side. She glared at the sharptooth. "That...was...a dirty trick..."

"So was that move you made earlier." He eyed the gash on his side, still bleeding. He walked over, lifted his foot, and slashed Cera in the side. She cried out in pain once again, tears dripping from her eyes.

Ducky struggled to her feet. "No...leave her alone!"

Lizzie started running over. "Cera!" She felt herself being held back by Ducky. "Let me go! I gotta help her!"

Ducky held onto Lizzie as she managed to get on her feet. "Sharptooth! Leave her alone!" She tried to sound tough, but in reality, she felt scared.

The sharptooth took one look at Ducky, and grinned. "Leave her alone? Why should I...?" He lowered his head towards Cera's neck, and opened his jaws. "It's time I stop her interference once and for all."

Ducky ran over, shouting, "NO!" She slammed into the sharptooth, knocking him down. Angry, he kicked her in the stomach, causing her to double over in pain. "Oo..." She moaned.

"Perhaps I should get rid of you instead..." He opened his mouth to attack, but stopped. And then he gave an eerie smile. "No...not yet." He lifted his foot and kicked Ducky in the head, knocking her out cold.

"Now where was I? Oh yes..." He walked towards Cera, who still laid on the floor, gasping for air. He felt something striking him lightly on his foot. He looked down and spotted a tinysaur. He licked his chops. "Another snack..." He bent down, and sank his teeth into the animal's body.

"No...Liz..." Cera coughed up blood. It wasn't long before the sharptooth swallowed Lizzie in front of Cera's eyes.

"Now for you..." He bent down, and the last thing Cera saw was a set of teeth. The sharptooth clamped his jaws on Cera's head. A sudden wave of pain filled Cera's mind. Then a crushing sound, like something splitting bone open. Then, suddenly, the pain was gone, and darkness engulfed her. 


	6. Like To Kill

Part I: The Mystery

(A/N) The reason for this chapter being so short was because I didn't have many ideas for this chapter, so I'm just going to keep it short.)

Ducky closed her eyes tightly, thinking that now that Cera was gone, there was nothing that could stop the sharptooth from killing her too. The sharptooth looked at her hungrily, and walked forward, prepared to slice his teeth into her flesh as well.

"NO!" Came a loud voice, and a long tail lashed out of nowhere and struck the hunter in his side, knocking him down. Ducky looked, surprised, and found Littlefoot standing there, teeth clenched together. The sharptooth, surprised to find another challenger, struggled to his feet. He raised his horned head towards the longneck and snarled.

"Littlefoot? I'm surprised to see you here." He smiled.

Littlefoot turned his head, and noticed Cera's dead body. Eyes wide with shock, he muttered, "Cera...? No..." He closed his eyes and let a couple of tears fall through, and then he gave the sharptooth a look that could kill if it had the power to. "You... Why are you doing this...?" He took a step forward. "Sharpteeth are supposed to kill when they are hungry, but you...you do it whenever you please, don't you?"

The sharptooth grinned, exposing his long sharp teeth to the longneck. "Is that a problem, dear little longneck?" He tilted his head, the same dark smile on his snout. "After all, it is called 'survival of the fittest', is it not?"

"It doesn't mean you can kill anything anytime you want!" Littlefoot shouted.

The sharptooth chuckled. "My my, what a temper you have..." He shook his head. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. You should learn to control your temper."

But Littlefoot wasn't listening. He was so angry, he could've shot lasers from his eyes and killed the sharptooth. His body grew tense from the anger, his face turning red. "You like to kill...more than you like to eat..." He stared the sharptooth straight in the eye. "Isn't that right!" He shouted. He couldn't take his mind off what happened to Cera, Lizzie, and Dusty.

The predator grinned. "Control your anger. Stress is a killer."

Littlefoot's eyes widened. "So are you!"

"I guess there's no use in talking to you." He shrugged. He started to turn around and vanish into the forest once again, but Littlefoot called to him.

"Where do you think you're going!" He yelled. "I'm not finished here!"

The sharptooth shrugged. He looked back at Littlefoot, eyeing him through the backside of his red eye. "Well I am. You see, Littlefoot...I don't want to fight you, not yet..." His lips curled back into an evil snarl. "But I promise you that you and I will face one another...very soon." He chuckled. He disappeared into the forest.

As soon as he was gone, Littlefoot ran towards Ducky, and lowered his head. "Ducky, are you okay?"

Ducky glared at him. "Do I look okay?"

"Uhh...no..." Littlefoot muttered.

"I still haven't found Petrie..." Ducky said, hoping to draw Littlefoot's mind away from what happened to Cera.

Littlefood answered, "Not surprised. Spike and I couldn't find him either."

The swimmer struggled to her feet, and leaned against Littlefoot for support. They started walking back towards their homes near the center of the valley. "Littlefoot? How did you know where I was?"

Littlefoot smiled slightly. "I followed the screams."

Ducky chuckled a little. "That loud, huh?"

"Booming." Littlefoot said.

As they headed towards the center of the valley, they were greeted by Spike. He had his head low, as if something was wrong. Littlefoot and Ducky approached him as quickly as they could.

"Spike?" Ducky asked, staring at her step-brother.

"Hi, Ducky..." His voice trailed off. He shuffled his feet, and eyed Ducky and Littlefoot. "Topsy want you."

Littlefoot and Ducky were taken aback. "What?"

Spike nodded. "Yes. He want to see you. Messa dinks it very important." He pointed his head towards where Mr. Threehorn was waiting. Littlefoot and Ducky looked at each other, and started walking towards that direction, joined by Spike.

Littlefoot started wondering what Mr. Threehorn wanted with him. It couldn't possibly be about Cera's death. It just happened. And he wasn't anywhere to be seen. Maybe it was about the sharptooth incidents. That must be it.

As they were approaching the center of the valley where they held the meeting, Littlefoot could see Mr. Threehorn standing right there, looking at him. And by the looks of his face, he didn't look very happy, not happy at all... 


	7. A Traitor of Reluctance

Part I: The Mystery

Mr. Threehorn could sense their nervousness. In a soft voice, he said, "I'm not angry. Just concerned."

Littlefoot and Ducky sighed with relief. "Concerned? About what?"

The old threehorn lowered his head and sighed. "About Cera. I heard her scream, and I heard the sharptooth's roar." He shook his head. "I sure hope she's all right..."

"Yeah well...about Cera..." Ducky's voice trailed off.

Topsy lifted his head. "She was killed?" He asked, as if he knew already what they were going to tell him.

Littlefoot nodded. "Yes. I found her body in the eastern part of the valley. Looked as if it was a quick battle."

Now it was Ducky's turn to speak. "She died protecting me." She said shamefully. Spike looked at her. He could feel the pain that was growing inside Ducky's heart. He couldn't blame her. Maybe it would've been better if they all just sticked together, just like they had in the past.

Topsy's expression changed from stunned, to horror, to anguish, then to anger! "You mean the reason the sharptooth got her was because you were moping around!" He shouted at Ducky, stunning the swimmer. "Why you no good...!"

Littlefoot jumped in the threehorn's path. "Don't you dare blame her!" He boldy faced the threehorn. He may be old, but old age wasn't a hinder to the dinosaur.

Mr. Threehorn cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, then I suppose it's you to blame."

"No! Ducky wasn't moping around. She was searching for Petrie!"

For a few seconds, there was nothing but an erie silence among the group. "Well still," Threehorn said, breaking the silence, "she should've fought the sharptooth."

"He was too strong." Ducky said. "I mean that sharptooth took down a threehorn like she was a baby swimmer! How do you think I would fare against something like that?"

Littlefoot nodded. "That's right, Mr. Threehorn." He eyed the old dinosaur challengingly. "Cera chose to sacrifice her life to save Ducky's. It's not like she didn't try to save Cera."

Topsy seemed to cool down a little, but there was still a hint of rage in his eyes. "All right, but..." He growled. He was stopped though, as an old female threehorn stepped in from behind.

"Now now, Topsy. No need to get too worked up." The female threehorn said, smiling grimly as she approached her mate. "Arguing isn't going to get us anywhere."

"Tria..." Topsy started, "...did you hear what happened?"

Tria nodded slowly. "Yes, I overheard everything. Poor Cera..." She shook her head. "But blaming Ducky and Littlefoot will not change what happened, Topsy, and you know that."

"I know, but..."

"But nothing. Danger's lurking around! This is no time to be blaming others for deaths!" Tria yelled at her old mate.

Littlefoot, Spike, and Ducky watched the two old threehorns.

"Who do you think will win?" asked Littlefoot.

"Messa bet on oldy threehorn." Spike said almost happily.

"I think Tria will win, yep yep yep."

"Yeah, well I think..." Suddenly a loud roar clashed through the forest, followed by a blood-curtling scream. Littlefoot raised his head to look in the direction of the sound. The threehorns became silent. Ducky and Spike looked nervously in the direction their friend was looking in.

Ducky murmured softly, "Littlefoot...? What was that...?"

Spike shuddered. "Messa not know..."

"I think I know..." Littlefoot said gravely. "The sharptooth's gotten to Shorty..."

About a month ago, Bron's herd had moved into the great valley. From what Bron said, there was a horrible falling rock incident which destroyed their valley. Only a small fraction of the herd, including Bron and Shorty, managed to get out alive. Littlefoot welcomed the herd with open arms, estatic to see his father and stepbrother again.

Littlefoot raced through the forest, followed closely by Spike and Ducky. "We've...got...to...hurry...!"

They finally came to a clearing, and stopped as they saw a huge pool of blood! Horror registered in their minds as they found Shorty, laying on his side. His stomach was ripped wide open, spilling his intestines across the floor. Bloody gashes were present on his front legs, and blood poured heavily from his mouth. The stench of flesh decaying was already sticking to the still air. Flies were buzzing around the open wound in Short's side.

"Shorty...no..." Littlefoot whispered. He walked to his brother's side. Ducky and Spike stepped back, watching as Littlefoot tried to wake his mortally wounded brother. After a few failed attempts, Shorty's eyes slowly opened. They were glassy and unfocused, and it looked as if he was blind. His pupils were dull gray instead of black.

"L-Littlefoot...? Is that you...?" He choked.

"Yes." Littlefoot nuzzled Shorty's head gently. "What happened here...?"

Shorty wheezed painfully. "I was just...just grazing the trees, minding my own...b-bu-business. Th-Then suddenly, a sharptooth attack-attack-attacked m-m-me." He breathed in heavily. "H-H-He demanded t-t-to know wh-where your f-f-f-father was..."

"My father...?" Littlefoot gasped. "Why?"

"I-I don't know..." Shorty choked out. "B-But when I didn't tell him, he-he did this to-to me." He moaned in agony. "So..strong..."

"Shhh..." Littlefoot whispered as he once again brought his head to Shorty's.

The longneck wheezed, and gasped for air. His dull eyes rolled back inside his head, and his body become limp. Littlefoot pulled himself away, and stared at Shorty's body for several minutes. Ducky and Spike slowly approached their friend, being extremely cautious.

"L-Littlefoot...?"

The longneck didn't answer. Instead he lowered his head and started crying. Ducky tried to say something, but nothing came to mind. She watched helplessly as Littlefoot cried over Shorty's body.

Finally Littlefoot looked up at the skies, and yelled into the skies, his cry of anguish echoing throughout the Great Valley. When he was finally done, he heaved in heavy breaths of air, a look of anger and hatred in his eyes.

"Um...Littlefoot?" Spike asked nervously.

"He'll pay..." He gritted his teeth. "He'll pay! He's going to stop this now!"

Spike and Ducky couldn't do anything except watch Littlefoot stomp away. They reluctantly followed him, unsure of what was going to happen next.

"I hope he'll be okay." Ducky said softly.

"Messa hope so too." Spike whispered, walking beside his stepsister.

"And we still haven't found Petrie. Nope nope nope..." Her voice trailed off. "I hope he's okay as well. Hopefully he escaped the sharptooth."

Spike only nodded.

Somewhere, miles away, the sharptooth was walking through towards the exit of the valley. He started climbing up the wall, struggling to hang onto something in one of his hands. The little creature squirmed, but could not escape the thick leaf it was tied in. "Put me down!" It shouted angrily.

"Shut up yourself, or I will eat you right now!" The sharptooth growled, shaking the leaf harshly.

As he finally made it out of the valley, he came across the cave that he was hiding in. It was the same cave where Ozzy and Strut used to live, and the same cave where Littlefoot encountered the egg stealers. The egg stealers no longer lived there, and the sharptooth soon called it home. It was convenient. It was right next to the valley, and nobody would suspect to search in this cave.

The meat-eater stepped into the darkness of the cave. He sniffed the air. "Come on out, you guys." He said.

"Put me down!" Annoyed, the sharptooth threw it into the dark shadows. Something winged emerged and tried to fly away. Before it could even enter the light, something bigger knocked it down. It grabbed it with its clawed feet and pushed it into the ground.

"Let me have him! Let me have him!" A female voice shouted excitedly.

"No! You know what the boss says." The other voice was male.

"Aww...Ichy, that's not fair!"

"Sorry, Dil." Ichy the sharpbeak spoke, poking his head into the light. "We have to do what he says. After all, he was nice enough to share some of his kills with us."

The bellydragger emerged from the darkness. She and Ichy were clearly older. Dil had lost some of her teeth, and was slower than before. Ichy's black feathers were now gray. "I still want a piece of him." She eyed the flying creature pinned down by Ichy.

"Now now," the adolescent sharptooth said, approaching them. "No need to be arguing. You two will get some action soon enough."

Ichy grinned. "Sure, boss! I can't wait to rip out one of those no good kids' throats!"

"In due time, in due time." The sharptooth grinned evilly. "But I shouldn't be the hero here." He looked towards a section of the cave where the shadows were not to dark. "After all, I'm not the one who found this cave, and found this entrance to the valley. Isn't that right?" He stepped to the side.

Emerging from the shadows was a young female longneck. Her blue eyes bore the look of shame, lowering her head as she walked into the light. The flying creature spotted the longneck, and seemed to gasp in shock.

"...Ali...?" 


	8. Slave

Part I: The Mystery

Ali noticed the captive. "Petrie...?" She took a step forward.

The sharptooth eyed the bellydragger and sharpbeak. He nodded his head once, and the two disappeared into the darkness. The sharptooth glared at Ali warningly, "Don't even think about leaving." The longneck cringed. He just smiled and walked off. He didn't have much to worry about. Ali knew the punishment if she dared try to leave the cave.

As soon as they were gone, the flying creature, positively identified as Petrie, flapped over to the young longneck. "Ali, what you doing here? Me thought you left." Ali's herd had visited not too long ago. Petrie was surprised to see her here, with the sharpteeth.

"I was 'bout to ask you the same thing." The female longneck replied, leveling her neck to be eye level with the flyer. "You shouldn't be here." She whispered almost harshly.

"Heh." Petrie rolled his eyes. "Not like me wanted to be here..."

"How did you get here?"

"Me no know. Just fell asleep a few days ago, and woke up somewhere else. Sharptooth take me here." He flew up and landed on Ali's head. "How you get here?"

Ali closed her eyes. "I'd...rather not talk about it."

Petrie cocked his head. "Why not?"

"Just...I don't know..." She murmured softly. "The sharptooth who took you... Well I wondered away from my herd, and...he found me." Petrie nodded his head, waiting for her to continue. "He captured me, and forced me to reveal the weak spot in the Great Wall..." Petrie's eyes widened. "He told me he'd kill me if I didn't..."

Petrie didn't know what to say. A part of him was angry with her for having betrayed the Great Valley. But the other part felt sorry for her, being forced to work for an insane and unnatural sharptooth. He decided to speak up. "Why don't we make a run for it?" Petrie suggested, eyeing the cave entrance.

"NO!" Ali shouted, scaring the flyer. "We...I must not leave. He...he'll kill me if I do..."

"Who?" He asked, standing up. "Who will kill you?"

Ali whispered the name. As Petrie leaned in to hear it, as he heard the name, his eyes were filled with terror and disbelief. "N-no...he wouldn't...not him..."

Littlefoot walked alone along the forest path. The death of Shorty was devasting for him. And it gave him even more reason to seek out and stop this mad dinosaur. But he wasn't sure what to do if he ran into the sharptooth. He couldn't figure out just what to do...

The breeze picked up, and carried with it a scent. Littlefoot tensed up, and looked around. "Who's there?" When no one answered, he shrugged. "Probably just the wind."

He brushed it aside and continued walking along. Then he heard a cracking sound of a twig nearby. He nearly jumped out of his skin! "Who's there!" He shouted, louder this time. But his only reply was the sound of rustling leaves and the cawing of birds nearby. He growled softly, and continued walking. He whispered to himself, looking behind him, "It's probably that sharptooth..."

A laughter ran out! Littlefoot screamed and took off running. He could hear the footfalls of the pursuer behind him. Littlefoot just kept running. The pursuer laughed and yelled excitedly.

"Where are you going!" The voice asked. Littlefoot refused to answer. He could feel the sharptooth getting closer and closer. He could almost feel his breath on the back of his long neck...

"Gotcha!" The creature pounced him! The two rolled across the floor. Littlefoot yelped and used his long tail to strike the sharptooth away. The dinosaur rolled across the floor and hit a nearby large tree. He moaned a little, and shook his head. "Hey! What's the big idea!" He yelled angrily, slowly getting up.

Littlefoot turned around and finally got a glimpse of what was chasing him. He was shocked to see it wasn't the insane sharptooth. It was his friend, Rex!

(A/N Yes, I did get permission from Sora W.T.K to use Rex.)

"Rex! Is that you?" He gaped.

The dinosaur, identified as Rex, brushed himself off. He opend his wings wide, and smiled. "Yep, it's me."

Littlefoot sighed with relief. "Thank goodness it's just you.. I thought you were..." His voice stopped.

Rex tilted his head. "Hmm? What's the matter?" He detected the look of hurt on Littlefoot's face. "What happened?"

Littlefoot looked at Rex. He wasn't sure where to begin. "Want me to tell you the full story?"

The flying dinosaur nodded.

"All right... it started like this." Littlefoot started to explain the story. Rex listened intently to every word Littlefoot was saying.

Back in the cave, the sharptooth had returned. Ali was ordered to climb the mountain wall and search for Littlefoot. Petrie was taken by the sharptooth after he learned his true identity. "Put me down!" The flyer yelled angrily.

The sharptooth grinned, his teeth glinting in what little light the cave gave them. "So you know the truth, don't ya...?" He laughed. "Too bad the others didn't."

Petrie snarled. "Don't you dare hurt them! Or me will..."

"Or you'll what...?" The sharptooth said tauntingly. "In that puny size, you couldn't save even an egg."

Petrie fumed, but curiousity grew in him. "Me want to know one thing..."

The sharptooth cocked an eyebrow. "And that is...?"

"Why did you betray us...?" 


	9. Confrontation in the Cave

Part I: The Mystery

"What!" Rex cried out, his dark blue eyes registering sheer horror. Littlefoot had just told Rex about the series of murders that have been taking place. "H-How...?" He was almost afraid to find out.

Littlefoot bowed his head a little, eyes closed tightly. "A sharptooth..."

"What..?"

"A sharptooth! He-He somehow came in here...somehow found a way into the valley!" Littlefoot cried out in agony. Rex stepped back, giving his friend a bit of room. Littlefoot panted a few times, trying to calm himself down. "I-I'm sorry I snapped..."

Rex smiled faintly. "It's all right. I understand your pain."

"Thanks... anyway, where was I?"

Rex said, "You were telling me about the sharptooth finding a way in..." He winced, thinking it would make Littlefoot snap again.

However, this time, it didn't. "Oh yes." Littlefoot gulped. "The sharptooth came in only a few days ago, and already has caused so much grief..."

Rex narrowed his eyes. "Like what?"

"Almost killing Ducky, killing Cera, killing two tinysauruses, and then..." His voice trailed off as tears filled his eyes once more. "Killed Shorty..."

Rex clunched his hand in a fist. How dare that sharptooth do those things! How dare he! "I can't believe someone could be so...so cold-hearted!" He cried, tears of pain and hatred streaming down his face. The tear from his right eye stung the scars that snaked down his face. They still slightly hurt, as the area had never completely healed.

Littlefoot opened his eyes. "Apparently, he can." He looked at Rex, noticing the tears in his dark eyes. "That sharptooth loves to kill...loves to kill more than eat. He-He's not a normal sharptooth..."

Rex blinked. "Not normal? Likes to kill more...? Yeah, that's definitely not a normal sharptooth personality."

Littlefoot turned and looked away. He looked at the Smoking Mountain. It hadn't erupted in months. It hadn't even started smoking. Dinosaurs in the valley were considering changing the name. But Littlefoot refused to believe the threat of an eruption was gone. A dormant volcano was like an earthquake. One can never know when the next disaster will occur.

Rex at first didn't say anything. He too looked at the Smoking Mountain. He had been told of the disaster it could bring whenever it erupted. Rex then eyed Littlefoot. For a long minute, neither of them said anything. Neither of them moved. Rex opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He couldn't really think of anything to say at all.

"They say the Smoking Mountain might never erupt again. I don't believe that." Littlefoot said, breaking the silence.

Rex shook his head. "Neither do I. It's unpredictable."

Back in the forest, Ducky and Spike had been wandering for hours. They didn't know where they were going. They didn't know why they were going. They just felt the need to go for a walk. It probably would take their minds off what was happening lately. But no matter what, something tugged at their minds, telling them the horrible things that occured, the harsh reality of death.

"Oh, I don't like this, no no no." Ducky chirped, hugging herself as she looked cautiously around her. She had no idea of the sharptooth was close by or not. It paid to be careful.

"Messa understand pain. No want Ducky to be sad." Spike said softly. While his grammar was bad, it was soothing to Ducky, especially after seeing Cera and Lizzie killed right before her eyes.

Ducky smiled. "I know, Spike." She sighed. "Just hard...to take your mind off horrible events, especially when they are happening to those you care about, yep yep yep."

Spike nuzzled his head against Ducky, and whimpered. "No be sad. It get better, messa know it."

Ducky almost glared at her step brother. "How can you say that?" She snapped.

Spike didn't look fazed. "Messa know it look bad, but it get better, better with time." He took a step back. "Sharptooth be stopped, yes. It will be stopped."

Ducky cocked her head. "What makes you think that?"

He smiled. "Messa just know."

Ducky smiled. It helped her feel a little better.

Back near the smoking mountain, Littlefoot and Rex had started to talk a walk as well. Littlefoot was leading Rex to where Shorty had been killed. His body was still there. The flesh was rotting off, and much of bone was exposed. Littlefoot wanted to throw up as he saw maggots in his brother's eyes, having eaten away his eyes. Flies came from his mouth, and beetles were squirming inside the skin to feed on the dead flesh.

Overhead, a large crestless flyer dove down. Dinosaurs in the valley call it deathtooth, since it only fed on the dead. The large flyer poked its beak and tore off a piece of flesh, swallowing it whole. Soon, two more deathteeth showed up. They began fighting with each other over the best dead meat.

Littlefoot felt rage fill his mind once more. It wasn't the scavengers that had him so angry. It was the fact of how this had happened to Shorty. And he couldn't save him. "I couldn't save him..."

Rex winced at the sight of the scavengers eating away the young animal's body, and turned towards Littlefoot. "It wasn't your fault..."

"And what makes you think that?" Littlefoot asked angrily.

"You couldn't have known something like that would happen." Rex replied.

Littlefoot suddenly remembered how Cera blamed herself for Dusty's death, even though she couldn't have done anything to save her. Now Littlefoot knew what Cera had gone through.

"You're right..." Littlefoot softly spoke. "It's just..so painful..." He closed his eyes.

"Death is always painful." Rex cooed. "You cannot change the past." He thought for a moment. "And you know, Littlefoot?"

Littlefoot opened his eyes once more. "What?"

"I'll find him...I'll find that sharptooth..." He said angrily, his eyes flashing the hatred he felt for the sharptooth.

Littlefoot nodded. "We'll find him together."

Back in the cave, Petrie was holding onto Ali's neck. The sharptooth had gotten extremely angry for some unknown reason when Petrie had asked him why he betrayed them. The sharptooth had chased Petrie for hours and it took Ali's begging to make him stop. The petrified Petrie clung to Ali, shaking.

"What? Me was only asking..." He stammered.

"SILENCE!" The sharptooth shouted. The entire cave seemed to have trembled in fear. Even Ichy and Dil were afraid. "You dare ask why I betrayed you...? Why is it any of your business, little one?"

Petrie gulped. "B-Because...we were...we were good friends..."

Ali spoke up. "Would it hurt to tell your tale?"

The sharptooth snarled viciously, and then became silent. The longneck did prove a point. It wouldn't change anything if he told the flyer or not. He grinned. The flyer wouldn't even be able to leave the cave. "All right then, Petrie. You want to know my tale?"

The flyer nodded, but didn't speak.

"All right then... Dil! Ichy!" He shouted.

"Yes?" They asked, walking cautiously towards their leader.

"Keep an eye out for intruders." The bellydragger and sharpbeak nodded once and they went over to the cave entrance. It was possible that someone might start searching outside the valley for the sharptooth.

"Anyway, how should I begin my story...?" The sharptooth was wondering. Petrie and Ali waited for him to continue. "Oh yes... my story begin..."

Suddenly there was a loud crash! The sharptooth, Ali, and Petrie looked to see Rex attacking the bellydragger, sending her flying back. Littlefoot showed up and used his tail to knock Ichy out cold. The bellydragger struggled to get up, but Rex kicked her in the stomach, knocking her out.

"Ali...? Petrie...?" Littlefoot asked, bewildered. He ignored the evil sharptooth and ran towards them. "How did..." He stammered.

Rex stormed towards the sharptooth, who had his back turned to him. "All right, whoever you are, how dare you...!" But he didn't complete his sentence. The sharptooth turned around, and as soon as he did, Rex felt his heart stop.

"N-No...it can't be...not you..." He stepped back, shaking.

"Oh yes it can..." The sharptooth grinned, advancing forward. He snapped two of his claws. Almost instantly the bellydragger got up and used her powerful tail to deliver a painful blow to Rex's side. The omnivore screamed in pain as he was tossed back. He slammed against the wall. Dil licked her lips and lunged forward to his prone body.

Ali gasped. "Littlefoot!"

Littlefoot noticed what was going on, and rushed forward. "No, not again!" He said through gritted teeth. He ran in front of Rex, blocking Dil's path. She snarled, but back down. She knew she couldn't defeat Littlefoot now, at least not without help. She smiled coldly as Ichy perched on her head.

"You think you troublemakers will make it out alive this time?" He chirped, ruffling his gray crest on his head. "You know how long I've waited to get a chance at revenge, kiddo?"

Littlefoot glared at him. "I'm not a kid! Not anymore."

Ichy chuckled coldly. "You're still a kid to us." He licked his beak. "A delicious kid meal, in fact..."

Littlefoot snarled. He almost attacked when the sharptooth blocked his path. Littlefoot growled angrily as his eyes met the sharptooth's. An evil grin came across the sharptooth's lips.

"I can sense your hatred." He smirked.

"Littlefoot...there is something you should know..." Rex coughed as he was coming to.

Littlefoot forgot about the sharptooth and turned to his friend. "What is it?"

"I know who that is..." Rex coughed, struggling to his feet. "And you should, too."

The sharptooth, bellydragger, and sharpbeak just watched as Littlefoot let his curiousity take over. "What...? I...I should...? How?"

Rex glared at the sharptooth as though he felt betrayed. "Of course...after all...you hatched him."

Littlefoot's eyes went wide as memories flashed back to him. He looked at the sharptooth in horror. "No...no..." He whispered as the sharptooth curled his lip back, exposing his teeth.

"You remember me, don't you?" He purred evilly.

(A/N I guess that gives it away, eh? The sharptooth will be positively identified in the next chapter.) 


	10. A Reason

Part I: The Mystery

"Chomper!" Littlefoot cried out, answering the horned sharptooth's question. In response, Chomper merely smiled, and purred once again in a menacing way.

(A/N The purring sound Chomper is making is very similar to the purring sound heard by the raptors of Dino Crisis.)

"Littlefoot! How did you find us?" Ali piped in.

"Rex helped us." Littlefoot noted, turning his neck to face his friend. "But what are you doing here, Ali?"

Chomper chuckled. "Isn't it obvious?" He cooed. "She helped me."

Littlefoot felt his heart skip a beat. "H-Helped...?" He looked at Ali. "You helped him...?" Ali didn't answer. She just couldn't answer. She just merely bowed her head in shame. "How? W-Why...?" Littlefoot managed to say, not believing yet another one of his friends is a traitor.

"Now now, Littlefoot." Littlefoot turned to glare at the blue sharptooth, now known as Chomper. "You shouldn't really be that mad..." He flexed the claws on his right hand. "After all, she only did it so I wouldn't do anything...drastic." He grinned.

Littlefoot rounded on Chomper. "What did you do!"

At first, Chomper's eyes registered fear. But that fear quickly drained into arogancy. "Why don't you ask her yourself...?" He sneered.

"No..." Littlefoot whispered. "No...Ali, why..?"

"He kidnapped me...forced me...I didn't want to...I didn't mean to..." Ali whispered, choking back tears. "I'm...I'm so sorry..."

Littlefoot glared at her for a few seconds. She winced as if she was struck, and backed away. Littlefoot's expression suddenly softened. The faintest hint of a smile showed up on his face. "I'm glad he didn't kill you."

"Awww..." Littlefoot turned his angry red eyes towards Ichy. The bird had an eerie smile on his beak. "Isn't that just touching?" He said sarcastically. "Two love dinos, reunited after all this time." His tone suddenly changed to disgust. "Yuck!"

Littlefoot shouted, "What's it to you, huh!" His tone softened. "What did you mean... love dinos?"

Ichy sneered. "It's pretty obvious you and her were a couple, with the way you two look at each other."

"Why you..." Littlefoot warned, but panicked when Dil opened her jaws and slammed shut close to him. She may had fewer teeth, but her bite was no less dangerous.

Chomper chuckled, recieving a glare from Rex. The winged dinosaur stomped towards the laughing sharptooth and struck him on the face! Chomper yelped, and could smell blood. A long thin cut snaked across his snout, looking very much like the wound his mother recieved back on the island, facing another horned sharptooth. Chomper snarled, and headbutted Rex! The omnivore fell on his side.

Chomper lifted his foot to kick him. But before he could, Littlefoot used his tail to knock Chomper down. "Don't you dare..." The longneck hissed.

The horned sharptooth sniggered softly. "You think you can threaten me...?" He took a step forward. "You really think you can scare me? With those small teeth of yours? Ha!" He laughed. He stopped after a few seconds, and glared seriously. "I think not..." His voice was a hiss.

Back in the Great Valley, Ducky and Spike continued walking. They hadn't talked for a while. They didn't know what else to talk about. Ducky's mind kept wandering, and Spike couldn't think of what to say anymore to help her.

"There they are!" They heard a voice shout. Ducky and Spike swerved to see Mr. Threehorn and Tria walking towards them. While Topsy had a frown on his face, it was a frown of seriousness, not a frown of anger. "Finally, we found you!"

Ducky gulped. "Anything wrong, Mr. Threehorn, sir?"

"Where's Littlefoot?"

Ducky shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't seen him in a while."

Mr. Threehorn shook his head. "I need to speak with him."

"Why?"

"Rumor has it that the sharptooth isn't working alone. I need to talk to Littlefoot and see if he knows anything about this."

Ducky looked confused. "Why would he know?"

"Hey, wouldn't hurt to ask!" He snapped.

Tria stepped forward. "Now, now, she was just asking a question." She looked at Ducky. "If you see Littlefoot, tell him to find Topsy, okay?"

Ducky and Spike nodded. The two threehorns disappeared back where they had come from. Ducky eyed Spike with a look of worry. "That sharptooth, having help...? If this is true...then..."

Spike gently nudged her. "No be sad. We find Littlefoot?"

Ducky nodded. "Let's go."

Back in the cave, Chomper, Ichy, and Dil all had cornered Littlefoot, Rex, Petrie, and Ali into one part of the cave. It was extremely dark, but they could smell each other and hear each other breathe. Littlefoot knew who was in front of him. Littlefoot and Rex stood in front of Ali and Petrie, using their bodies as a shield.

Chomper stepped up. "So, where was I...?"

Petrie swallowed. "You were about to tell us how you turn bad."

Chomper's eyes went wide, and he smiled. "Oh yes...that..."

"How could you betray us like this..." Littlefoot asked softly. "I thought we were friends."

The sharptooth's cold stare looked his way. "That's right. We were friends."

Littlefoot's mind was filling with so many questions. He was about to ask one of them when Chomper stepped forward one more time.

"Well do you or do you not want to know what happened to me?"

The four in the corner looked at each other, and looked back. They all gave a single nod. Chomper smirked. "Okay then, I will tell you my tale."

And so began the tale of Chomper's descent.

(A/N The next three chapters will tell of Chomper's past.) 


	11. His Story part 1: A Tragedy

Part II: The Foreboding

(A/N In this chapter, the sharpteeth will be speaking english, not 'sharptooth'. ; )

On the mysterious island, it was raining lightly. As a light wind brushed against the tree, small droplets of water fell onto the puddles that were forming. Beetles and other insects started burrowing underground while frogs and worms were coming up, escaping the underground. The meat-eating flyers were hiding in their nests, afraid that a storm was coming.

"Yahoo!" A laughter ran through the thick isolated jungle island. A small figure sped through the forest, snapping at small insects that were flying in the air. None of them were captured, upsetting the figure. "Aw... man!" He moaned.

Chomper, a young little sharptooth, was exploring the jungle unsupervised by his parents. It had been quite some time after Littlefoot had left. Chomper missed him so much. Surprisingly to him, though, his parents also missed him. The small sharptooth remembered how his parents had told him that they never planned on harming Littlefoot because they realized that he was the one who protected him while in the valley, while most of the plant-eaters probably would've killed him.

A small frog hopped in front of the sharptooth. He growled a little. He was starting to get hungry. His parents were already hunting, but he wasn't sure if they'd get any food. The food supply on the island was dramatically dwindling. Chomper wondered if there were too many sharptooth on the island, upsetting the balance.

Drooling and too impatient to wait for his mom and dad, Chomper lunged at the frog, mouth wide open. He snapped down, but missed the frog. It jumped out of his way! Smiling darkly, Chomper continued on chasing the amphibian, snapping crazily and hungrily, trying to sink his teeth into its soft flesh.

The frog, luckily, was easy to spot. It was very brightly colored. It had a bright red body with large black eyes, small black spots, and black legs with a few motting of pale blue. It just made the frog look so much more appetizing!

The frog was finally cornered. Chomper smiled toothly, and stalked forward. The frog was trembling in fear, its black eyes wide with fear. The youngster lunged forward! Mouth wide open, and he was getting ready to slam shut.

"CHOMPER! NO!"

Chomper was startled as a mouth engulfed him and lifted him way up in the air. He was redirected far away from the frog, near where he had started running. The mouth opened up and released him. The kid looked up to see his mother's concerned face. She had seen what Chomper was doing, and luckily stopped him before it was too late.

"Mother? What's wrong?" Chomper asked.

His mother, whose name was Goldclaw, was panting from worry. "What were you doing!" She snapped angrily.

Chomper cringed. "I was only hunting, mother..."

Goldclaw shook her head. "Son, that was a poisonous prey. You could've been killed!"

(A/N I do not know if poisonous dart frogs existed at this time. ; )

"I'm sorry, mother." He cooed, rubbing his head against his mother's leg. She sighed, and gently nuzzled her son, purring.

"It's all right. At least you're safe."

The wind started to pick up a little. A few leaves were knocked off the trees. The rain picked up a little. Goldclaw lifted her head and sniffed the air. She didn't sense any true alarm, but she felt perhaps they should go locate where Sly, her mate, was.

"A storm seems to be coming our way, Chomper." She announced. "Follow me. Let us go find your father."

She looked back at him briefly. "He was hunting."

Where Sly was, he was looking for his mate. He couldn't find any food. "The prey must've head for shelter." He could sense an oncoming storm. "The prey is wise. Perhaps we should've stayed in our den until the storm has passed." Sly turned his snout towards the south, and sniffed. He caught the faintest hint of Goldclaw's scent. He turned to walk in that direction.

The wind blew harder now. It wasn't enough to knock down him, but it was strong enough to cause a few fallen logs to roll a little. This started to worry him. If the winds continued getting stronger, that would spell trouble for them. Stuck on an island, they had to place to run to! A sharptooth couldn't swim. If it was a hurricane, it would've been even worse.

"I gotta find them..." He growled softly. "Where could they be?"

Sly suddenly caught something moving in his eye. It was a shadow against the trees. It stood on two-legs. He squinted, and could see a smaller figure with it. His eyes brightened and a smile curled up on his snout. It had to be them!

"Goldclaw? Chomper?" He cried out.

The figures who were stepping out of the wet jungle were indeed his mate and child. Sly rushed towards them. "There you are!" He gasped. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Goldclaw said, "I was out looking for Chomper. GOod thing I did." She slightly glared at the guilty Chomper.

Sly raised an eyebrow. "Why? What did he do?"

"He tried eating a poisonous frog." She said, rolling her red eyes.

Sly winced. "You must be hungrier than I thought, boy..."

Chomper nodded, smiling. "Speaking of being hungry, did you catch anything?"

The dark-colored sharptooth shook his head gravely. "Sorry, son." He sighed. "The prey must all be hiding underground or something." He looked at his mate. "We should do the same. A powerful storm is coming."

Goldclaw nodded. "I was thinking the same. As we searched for you, we noticed a few trees had already been knocked own." She closed her eyes. "That can't be a good sign..."

"It never is." Sly shook his head. "Hurry, we must go, now!"

Suddenly a flash of lightning and a thunder broke through the skies! The ground started shaking, as if it was struck. A brief moment of white flashed in the sharpteeth's eyes, blinding them for a few seconds. As soon as their sight returned, they realized that they were standing dangerously close to the edge of the island! Chomper realized that this was where he himself had fallen off. Memories of the horned sharptooth and swimming sharptooth flooded his mind. He clung to his mother's leg, and shivered.

Goldclaw licked his small body. "Shhh...it's all right, Chomper. We'll get out of here." She cooed.

Sly nodded, smiling a small smile. Suddenly a wind gushed their way. It was so powerful that it ripped trees form their roots! About five trees were rolling down their way! Sly gasped and shouted, "Run!"

Goldclaw saw the trees coming. At that speed, she knew she couldn't make it out of the way in time. But perhaps Chomper could... "Chomper! Move!" She shoved her son out of the way.

"MOM! DAD!" Chomper got off the ground and watched in horror as the trees slammed into his parents' sides. He rushed forward, but knew he couldn't do anything to help. "NO!"

Sly and Goldclaw rolled against each other, and rolled off the edge. They plunged into the cold waters below. They held their breath, and opened their eyes. The water was surprisingly calm. They tried swimming up, and managed to poke their heads out of the water. They gasped for air, and coughed. They looked up.

"CHOMPER!" Sly called out as loud as he could over the thunder claps in the sky.

Chomper could barely hear his dad. "DAD! MOM!" He could barely see them, but he knew their heads were out of the water. He was very relieved. "THERE'S LAND NEARBY! SWIM!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.

Goldclaw looked at her husband. "What did he say?" A flash of lightning broke through the skies, illuminated Sly's face.

"He said there's land nearby. We must swim to it!"

The two sharpteeth wasted no time in swimming around the island. They could barely see a small beach where Littlefoot and his friends landed on once. The sharpteeth were delighted. They knew a beach meant soon they would feel ground on their feet. They began swimming frantically towards it.

Chomper watched intently as his parents were making their way towards the beach. He turned around and was about the head down himself when a bloodcurdling scream caught his attention. He looked over, and his face drained of color.

There, in the water, he could see a large pool of blood forming. His mother was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly she popped out of the water. But before she could take a breath, a huge swimming sharptooth, 40 ft long, popped its head out of the water. Its huge mouth slammed on his mother's head, crushing it as it pulled her underwater again.

His father already had a large gash on his neck. He was losing a lot of blood. Another huge swimming sharptooth, about 35 ft this time, shut its powerful jaws around his neck, and ripped out his throat. He gurgled and coughed up blood. He, too, disappeared beneath the waves.

(A/N The sharks were megalodons. The other was not fully grown.)

Chomper's heart was speeding. He couldn't believe it. He just saw his parents get devoured, and by other sharpteeth! Tears rolled down his cheeks. He didn't want to believe it. He couldn't believe it. "No...no...NO!" He cried out.

He leaned over the edge. "MOM! DAD! NOOOO!"

A large lightning bolt struck the edge of the cliff. Chomper could feel himself falling. He slammed into the waters. At this point the waters had started churning as winds picked up and the hurricane getting closer.

He struggled to swim, struggled to get up at the surface. He finally got his head out of the water and took in a large, choked breath. A large wave crashed down on him. He struggled to the surface, but the waters spun him around. He started getting disoriented and didn't know where he was going.

He was able to come up to the surface one last time. He found himself pinned against the rocky cliff of the island. He got one last glimpse of a wave before he was knocked out. His unconscious body floated in the ocean, vulnerable to the elements.

After what seemed like hours, he slowly opened his eyes. He noticed he had washed ashore. He struggled to his feet, trying to remember what had happened. He could barely remember his parents blood, swimming sharpteeth... "Mom...dad..." He whispered softly.

It took him several seconds to realize he was no longer on the island. He looked around for a few minutes, registering what had happened in his brain. The area he was now in was a dry desert. There was no sign of foliage or food anywhere. He could see a few bones scattered, and a few small boulders, but that was it. It was a wide, flat desert.

"Mom? Dad?" He didn't wish to believe his parents were dead. Perhaps they had escaped. Perhaps they were here. If they were, he had to find them. He just had to! "Where are you?"

Suddenly a calm voice spoke. "You're parents can't be with you...anymore."

Chomper swerved his head. "Who are you?" He realized it was another sharptooth.

"I see you don't remember me." The sharptooth smiled, stepping out from the shadowy area he was standing in. As he stepped out, Chomper could see the sharptooth's olive green body, the small horns, the stripes, and the fins on his back. Chomper snarled and backed away.

"Get away from me..." It was the sharptooth that invaded his island when Littlefoot and his pals got stranded.

"I guess now you do." The sharptooth commented. He took a step forward. "You are without parents, aren't you?"

Chomper looked away. "What's it to you?"

The sharptooth looked a bit sad. "Why don't you come along?"

Chomper narrowed his eyes. "Why should I?"

The sharptooth sighed. "Forgive me for last time. I didn't introduce myself. My name is Slasher." Slasher lowered his head to eye Chomper right in the eyes. "I'm your father, your real father." 


	12. His Story part 2: Truth of Hate

Part II: The Foreboding

Chomper stared in disbelief at the green sharptooth. The sharptooth that had attacked on the island relentlessly, attacked his parents, nearly killing him and his friends... it was really his father? But then...who were the sharpteeth who took care of him? Why was he with them?

"I-I don't understand..." He spoke softly. "How...how can you possible be my father? I just watched him die..." He choked, holding back tears.

Slasher closed his eyes and shook his head. "That wasn't your real parents you saw die, my boy." He bent down to comfort Chomper, but the little dinosaur growled and backed away. Slasher looked disappointed.

"Get away from me..." Chomper hissed. "You're lying...It's all lies!"

Slasher sighed. The little boy was pretty upset. He looked towards the island. "You seem pretty convinced that they were your birth parents." He smiled slightly, chuckling a bit.

The blue sharptooth snarled. "What's so funny!" He faced the larger sharptooth. "What is it about my parents that you find so funny!"

The horned sharptooth didn't reply. He just stared at the island. Reaching that island was quite a feat. He wasn't sure how he, or any other land-based sharptooth for that manner, could hope to make it to the island without dying from exhaustion. But somehow, a select few made it to the island alive. He had been one of them.

He was following a scent of potention prey when he found the island. Upon arriving on it, he soon realized that Chomper was there. But being half-starved he went crazy, and thus resulting in the near disastrous meeting that had occurred. Slasher felt a bit bad about what happened, but some of it he did not regret.

Suddenly he felt something hit him in the leg. It didn't hurt too much, but it did sting a little. He looked down to find Chomper clawing at him. He lifted his foot to avoid another scratch from the little creature.

"What are you doing?" He asked as-a-matter-of-factly.

"What do you think?" Chomper swiped at him again. "I demand to know what you found so funny!"

Slasher slowly shook his head. "I cannot say." He looked back at the island. "And let me tell you again, my boy. What I had said, about me being your father... that was no joke." He lowered his gaze. He looked back at Chomper. He didn't say anything, but the same glare was still glued on his face. He didn't look at all convinced that he was telling the truth. Slasher sighed. He would have to tell Chomper the truth. He was worried how this would impact him, though.

"If you're my father..." Chomper inquired slowly, "...then why was I with those two sharpteeth?"

The green sharptooth opened his mouth to speak, but for a few minutes, nothing came out. He wasn't sure just how to begin, or where to begin. "Do you remember anything when you hatched?" He finally asked.

Chomper thought hard as he could. "I remember being surrounded by strange creatures who looked nothing like me. I think they were Littlefoot, Cera, Spike, Ducky, and Petrie. All leaf-eaters. I remember being in the Great Valley, and then those sharpteeth showing up...and taking me in."

Slasher nodded once. "So that's why you were with them. They must've been the ones who caused the whole mess." He scratched his chin as he thought carefully.

Chomper raised an eyebrow. "Come again? What did you mean... caused the whole mess?" He cocked his head.

Another sigh came through his mouth. "I remember I was coming back from a hard hunt when there was an earthshake. Now I knew this couldn't be any natural made earthshake. I figured someone must've caused something to happen inside the cave." He breathed in deeply. "I returned to discover much of the cave, well caved in. Luckily my mate's nesting site was still intact. I was horrified to learn that you were missing. You must've been taken into the Great Valley, and then those two sharpteeth adopted you."

Chomper still wasn't entirely convinced. "Then how come I don't look like you?"

In response to that came a sly smile. "Haven't you noticed your head?" He walked over to the shore line. The water was moving gracefully in and out. "Look in the water, my son."

Chomper gulped, and walked towards the water. He looked up at Slasher for a second, and then saw his reflection. Because of the waves, it was a little distorted. But peering closely, he noticed his head had two white bumps on them! He tried his best to feel them with his claws. It was difficult, but he could finally feel the nubs. They were a bit sharp.

"What...?" He looked at a loss of words. He looked up at Slasher in shock. "How can this be...? I have horns..." He suddenly saw two small horns on the sharptooth's head. "Just like you..." His voice trailed off.

Slasher nodded once. "Yes. I am your real father. Your other 'parents' were not the same species of dinosaur as you are. They adopted you probably because they felt sorry for you."

Chomper shook his head. This couldn't be real. It can't be real! It just can't! "No...no...no..." He whispered, backing away. Everything he ever knew, was a lie? Everything? "My life...it wasn't true? Everything I thought?"

Slasher smiled slightly. "And it all happened because someone moved your egg before you hatched."

The small sharptooth let those words sink in. The reality of what happened was starting to make sense to him now. The horrible truth of Slasher's words made his heart ache with emotional pain. The thought of him being seperated from his real father, taken to worlds he wasn't supposed to be in, causing the death of two innocent sharpteeth... everything sinking in. And all this started boiling up a new emotion inside him. An emotion that felt like it would eat him away... hate.

"So...you now realize the truth?" Slasher asked simply. He could clearly see the anger inside Chomper's eyes. He was pleased.

"Yes...it was their fault..." He whispered. "Their fault...their fault. Their fault!"

Slasher turned away from the island. He looked down at his son. The young sharptooth now had more to hate than to love. Slasher would raise him, like he was supposed to. "I understand your hate, Chomper my boy." He looked out ahead. "I can raise you, and teach you everything I know." He smiled. "What is it you want the most?"

Chomper blinked in surprise at this question. "Hmmm..." He thought carefully. He then came across a word that he thought he'd never use or even try. "I know what I want, father."

"What is it?"

"Revenge..." Chomper hissed through his teeth. "I want to make them pay...I want to make them all pay for what they've done to me!"

Slasher smiled. "And so you shall, in due time, in due time." He started walking towards his home. "Come along, son. Let us go home. And tomorrow your training shall begin..."

Chomper nodded. He walked slowly along his real father's side. Slasher looked down at him, and an evil thought came to his mind. His plan was working. Though he wasn't lying about anything he had said, he was hoping Chomper would react this way. It did work. And now Slasher will finally get to do the one thing that was forbidden among all sharptooth kind: teach a sharptooth to become a murderer.

(A/N Sorry if this chapter was a bit...rushed. I didn't have too much time to complete it.) 


	13. His Story part 3: Sharptooth Paradise

Part II: The Foreboding

A few weeks had passed. Slasher was leading Chomper to his home. They were heading towards the Great Valley, however that wasn't the destination that Slasher was heading. To attack too soon could prove fatal. No, he would wait for the right moment to send Chomper in. First, they must go somewhere else. He had started training Chomper, but to complete the training, he must first test to see how well his son was responding to the lessons. To do that, he must first reach his destination, a location that existed close to where the Great Valley was. A location that no one, but Slasher himself, knew about.

It was night time, and the air was still. The sound of their footprints was the only thing they heard. Nothing else was out. Nothing else was stirring. It was almost as if the place was abandoned. But Slasher knew better. Sharpteeth tend to hide out and be silent when waiting for unsuspecting prey.

Chomper followed his father loyally. The young dinosaur had a few cuts that he recieved during training. His father assured him that the cuts wouldn't scar over. But Chomper could care less. In his mind, having a few scars didn't matter. Though it would make him look more intimidating...

"Are we there yet?" He chirped suddenly, growing bored from all the travelling. "We've been traveling for days." He shook his head. He looked like he was brandishing his horns. They were now about the same size as his father's, and still growing. Slasher believed Chomper's horns could grow to a size unheard of in his kind. Perhaps they could even be used as a weapon.

Slasher stopped in his tracks. He looked up at the large moon in the sky. "We'll be there before the night circle sinks below the horizon, son." He then turned his sights towards Chomper. "Just have patience. It's a..."

"A virtue, I know, I know." Chomper rolled his eyes. "You already told me that."

Slasher smiled. "Well now, shall we continue? We're nearly there." He assured. Chomper nodded, and they resumed their walk.

Chomper was wondering just where they were headed. Slasher wouldn't speak the name. Slasher told him that he will learn the name after he's completed his training. Chomper knew that could take a lot more time. Slasher would intensify the training. There could be a chance he'd have to wait months or even years to exact his vengeance. But he was willing to take that risk. Chomper growled, narrowing his eyes as he thought of Littlefoot and his friends. If it meant getting back at them, the ones responsible for his seperation from his real parents, it was worth the risk.

Slasher watched his offspring for a few seconds, then eyed the path ahead. He smiled as he started recognizing the place. The walls narrowed close, looking as though it was going to create a tunnel. But he knew the place very well. It was just an illusion. The walls on either side would never curl into each other to form a tunnel. Instead, they were leading them towards the entrance of what Slasher thinks of as a sacred place.

Tall mountains towered high, each one ending in jagged sharp edges. Some seemed to curl foward, making them look like teeth or claws. Even the smaller mountains were hooked sharply. The only plants that grew were the spiked trees. Plant-eaters never risked eating them. Normally they would grow far apart, but because of a source of water nearby, there was a whole field of them. They seemed to be blocking their path, as they stretched from one side to the other.

"Dad," Chomper muttered, looking at the spiked trees with a worried look. "How are we going to get across?"

Slasher smiled darkly as he walked towards a large boulder that had three deep crevices in it. It looked as if it was slashed by a giant sharptooth. Slasher used his massive body and brute strength to push the boulder to the side. It revealed a tunnel that dug deep into the side of one of the walls. "Come here, Chomper."

Chomper walked over. As soon as he stepped inside, Slasher then returned the boulder back to its original place. The tunnel was almost completely dark.

"Why'd you do that? It's so hard to see." The youngster narrowed his eyes, trying to look for even the faintest scrap of light to see.

Slasher rolled his eyes. "Just feel agains the wall. There's only one path, my son. It will take you into the valley."

Chomper beamed. "You mean I can have my revenge now?"

Slasher sighed. "No, son. This isn't the Great Valley." He chuckled. "If it was this easy to get into the Great Valley, can you imagine now many sharpteeth would live in the valley by now?"

"This is easy...?" Chomper tilted his head. They started walking down the tunnel.

"Yes. Pretty much."

"So what's up with the spiked trees? Wasn't that the path that lead into the valley?"

The green sharptooth breathed in and exhaled slowly. "The spiked trees were there when I first arrived. Another sharptooth who lived in the valley showed me how to get in." He smirked. "This place is secret to most dinosaurs, because the only seen path is blocked, and the second path is hidden."

Chomper nodded. "A perfect hideout. You come here often?"

"Yes. This is where I train myself so I can catch prey easier. Of course..." He closed his eyes. "Among sharptooth kind this is illegal. The sharptooth you'll meet here will be fugitives who fled their home to practice their killings in peace." He lowered his eyed. "Understand?"

Chomper said, "Yes, I understand."

Slasher smiled. "Good."

They continued walking, and Chomper realized suddenly that he could see better. At the far end, there was a glimpse of white light. Chomper smiled, and being overly excited, started running towards the entrance. Slasher's eyes widened in horror, and he raced after his son. "Chomper, NO!" He managed to reach Chomper and used his mouth to pick him up.

"What?" Chomper asked. "What are you doing, father?"

Slasher didn't answer. He quickly jumped through the opening. Chomper heard a loud crash behind him. He looked and saw in horror that a huge boulder had landed where he was, blocking the path that lead out. Slasher panted heavily, tongue hanging out. Chomper dropped to the floor with a thud. He groaned and rubbed the back of his neck.

"What was that...?" He managed to choke out. As he looked up, he saw the shadows of two large sharpteeth. They looked like they were on guard duty. They stood above the entrance, and were watching him intently. Their eyes seemed to glow red in the darkness of the night.

Slasher looked at Chomper. "I forgot to tell you, this place is heavily guarded." He calmed his breathing to a steady rate. "Anyone who hasn't been here before risks being killed unless they are following closely behind someone who is trusted in this place." Chomper nodded, understanding now the error he had made.

"Slasher, good to see you again." A small sharptooth walked towards them. It was a sickleclaw, a pack hunting sharptooth. From the sound of the voice, the sharptooth was a female. She had pretty blue eyes with claw-shaped pupils. She had a light yellow body with bold black stripes. From the blood that lightly stained her lips, she had previously eaten.

Slasher smiled happily. "Well hello there, Blueye! Blueye, this is my long lost son, Chomper. Chomper, this is Blueye, one of the leaders in training."

Chomper smiled slightly. "Nice to meet you."

Blueye grinned, flashing her sharp toothed mouth. "He's positively adorable! And my, what large horns! They might become mighty good weapons, yes?" She giggled. Chomper winced. He was getting pretty annoyed with her already, and they only met for a few seconds.

Slasher knew that Chomper and he had traveled a lot in the long few days. They had hardly rest, hardly slept, and hardly ate. He could hear his stomach growl. He smiled nervously and chuckled. Blueye cocked an eyebrow. "You two hungry? Why didn't you say so?" She looked at Chomper again, then back at Slasher. "Nothing to each right now, but there will be something in the mornin', now don't you worry!"

Chomper nudged his dad. "You heard her. Why don't we just find someplace to sleep for a while?"

"Yes, that might not be a bad idea." He eyed Blueye. "Sorry, but we must get going. Chomper and I had a few rough days of walking, and we need rest." He took a step forward. "Tell me, is my den still vacant?"

The sickleclaw blinked, as if confused. "What do you mean? It's always been vacant! I thought you had forbidden any of his from occupying it, even when you were away."

Slasher laughed. "Oh yes, now I remember." He cleared his throat. "Come along Chomper."

Chomper walked towards his father, glad to be getting away from the strange yellow sickleclaw. She was starting to creep him out. As Chomper was being led to the den by his father, he got his chance to look around. The inside of the valley did have a thin coating of grass. He could see large forests and rivers. It indeed looked a lot like the Great Valley, but looked just slightly larger. He turned his head. He could see the source of the water that the spiked trees just outside the walls fed on. There was a large hole on the side and water ferociously rushed in. The opening of the whole had teeth-like protrusions on the top and bottom. It gave the eerie appearance that it was a real sharptooth's mouth.

Chomper kept looking around. He had never seen any place like this. Well not other than the Great Valley and the island he used to live on, anyway. It was so gloomy at the entrance, but it looked almost like paradise on the inside. That's when he realized something was off. With all this green food around, where were the leaf eaters? Chomper wasn't stupid, though. He did know that leaf eaters either hide or fight when sharpteeth were out. But what were the chances of all leaf eaters avoiding the sharpteeth?

He sighed, and looked up at his father. He wanted to ask him so badly what this place was. But something was holding him back. As he kept looking out in that dark forest, a sense of eeriness crept up his spine. There was indeed something...unnatural about this place. "Dad..." He finally spoke out. "What is this place...? It feels so...unnatural."

Slasher stopped. "I'll tell you just as soon as we..." He stopped in his tracks. He grinned. "We're there!"

Chomper shifted his eyes towards what his father was looking at. The den was a small cave. It didn't look it went more than 60 ft in. Chomper cautiously stepped inside. More rocks shaped like teeth seemed to be sprouting out of nowhere. There was plenty of room to sleep though, and the teeth-like protrusions didn't seem to be anything more than just to be scary-looking.

"Anyway, about this place..." Slasher said as they got inside the den. "This is the place where I and others like me train. This place is a slave-holder, a dream-maker..."

"But it looks like a paradise...for leaf eaters." Chomper looked out.

"It is a paradise, my son." Slasher nuzzled his son. "It's a paradise...for sharpteeth."

Chomper looked confused. What did he mean by that? "What do you mean...?" But he was cut off by his dad.

"Shhh...time to sleep. I will tell you more about this place in the morning."

"But can you at least tell me the name?" Chomper and his dad laid down to get ready to sleep. "Before we go to bed?"

Slasher sighed. "All right... the name of this place is...Fortress Valley."

(A/N And thus ends Chomper's 3-part story.) 


	14. Escape

Part II: The Foreboding

"That's all I am going to tell you." Chomper said simply, smiling devilishly. "You don't need to know anything else."

As Chomper finished his story, Littlefoot, Ali, Petrie, and Rex were in shock. They had listened carefully to the sharptooth's every word. Rex wasn't around when they had brought the egg in, and neither was Ali. But Petrie and Littlefoot both remembered very well what had happened. It may have been a few years, but they remembered everything like it was yesterday.

"Chomper, listen..it wasn't our fault you..."

"Shut up!" Chomper barked maliciously. "I'm sick of your lies!"

Petrie flew up and hovered above the longnecks. "But we no lied to you, Chomper." He recieved a look of hatred from the sharptooth. Then Chomper revealed all of his teeth in a vicious smile. Petrie yelped and flew behind Littlefoot's head. "Why you so mean and scary now?"

The sharpbeak finally spoke after a long moment of silence listening to Chomper's story. "Oh come on, he already told..." Suddenly a large blue foot stepped in front of him. The startled sharpbeak and bellydragger gulped and pulled back. Chomper lowered his head, and eyed them with an angry look.

"I...answer the questions around here." His hissing voice sounded like nothing they ever heard before. It was so menacing that even the cold-hearted Dil couldn't stand hearing the sound. Chomper pushed his head forward so that his snout was touching Dil's. "Understand me?"

Although she couldn't see him that well, Dil knew very well that Chomper was right in her face. "Y-Y-Yes boss." She whimpered, backing away slowly. "We understand."

Ichy nodded his head and smiled nervously. "Y-Yeah. It won't happen again. We promise!" He closed his eyes and lowered his head as Dil continued backing away.

The sharptooth smiled. "Good." He turned around to face Littlefoot. Littlefoot shuddered as the blue sharptooth looked at him that way. Why, not too long ago, Chomper used to look at Littlefoot with eyes full of happiness, loyalty and trust. Now all that he could see in there was emptiness, hatred, and betrayal. "Before my dad...my real dad...died, I promised him I would make him proud. I would kill you and avenge him!"

Littlefoot couldn't believe what he was hearing. But it wasn't just the killing thing he was confused about. "He died...?"

Chomper growled softly. "Yes. He died a few weeks ago." He closed his eyes. "He died from a..." He shook his head. "Wait? Why am I telling you this?" He took a step forward. "It was your fault it happened! Your fault!" He suddenly charged forward. He opened his mouth wide and snapped forward. Littlefoot reacted fast and used his tail to knock Chomper to the ground.

"That's not true!" Littlefoot pinned Chomper to the ground. He lowered his head and bared his teeth as he glared at the sharptooth who was once his friend. "How was I responsible!"

Chomper glared hatefully, and said, "You should know...You were there." Chomper then used his large feet to kick the longneck in the stomach. Littlefoot fell to his side. He looked up. Chomper raised his foot and kicked him again! This time it was in the ribs. Littlefoot cried out as he rolled onto his back, exposing his underbelly. Chomper laughed as he saw his chance and dove in to attack.

"No!" Chomper was knocked aside by something. Littlefoot looked in horror as Rex staggered back to his feet. Chomper opened his eyes after he had hit the ground, and snarled.

"Rex, no. You're hurt." Littlefoot walked over to his omnivorous friend. The winged dinosaur smiled at Littlefoot.

"It's...all right. I'm...fine." He spoke too soon. A wave of pain gripped his mind, and he almost lost his balance. Littlefoot walked up to him and let him lean on his body. "Thanks..."

"No problem." Littlefoot smiled, but the smile faded quickly and he turned his attention back towards Chomper. The blue sharptooth was back on his feet and stalking towards his direction. "We didn't do anything to you." He said as a final attempt to make Chomper believe him. He knew it was futile.

"I don't believe you..." Before the horned sharptooth could attack, Ali stepped forward. "So you're going to fight me? Fine!" He charged forward, but the female longneck was unfazed this time. She only snarled and charged forward herself.

Littlefoot could only stare in shock as Ali and Chomper dashed for each other. Even Ichy and Dil were surprised by the longneck's bravery. Ali reared on her hind legs and stomped down. The ground shook with incredible force! Chomper could barely stand up. As soon as he reached her he headbutted her. His sharp horns only scratched her skin as she manuevered quickly to avoid their deadly collision. She used her tail to trip him. While the sharptooth was still on the ground, she reared up again to stomp down on him. "This is for my family!" She felt gravity do its job and pull her back towards the ground.

She thought she had him this time, but suddenly Chomper brought his head to her underside. Caught completely off guard, Ali screamed as the horns slashed her in the chest. They didn't go in deep, only scratching the surface. Blood started to leak out. A puddle of blood started to form.

"Ali!" Littlefoot shouted as the female longneck struggled to stand up on her feet. Littlefoot started to charge forward when Chomper shifted his blood red eyes towards him. Something about that look stopped him in his tracks.

"Try anything..." He stepped closer to Ali. "...and I'll kill her."

Ali glared at Chomper. "You..."

Chomper smiled at her. "You seemed to be an intelligent young dinosaur." He chuckled. "Too bad it's going to be wasted when you die!"

He was about to attack when something else charged through the cave opening. The act was so fast that no one could tell who had just came in. Suddenly something struck Chomper in the side. He cried out in pain as he felt four spikes penetrate his side. He fell to the ground.

"Spike!" Littlefoot cried out. "How did you get here?"

Spike looked at him. "Messa no can explain. You run, now!"

Chomper was getting on his feet. Littlefoot hesitated. "But...you..."

Spike smiled. "No worry, friend. Just go!" He glared at the sharptooth. "Messa take care of bad guy." He kicked up dirt as he charged forward. Chomper roared as he tried to tackle the spiketail. Spike struck him in the face with his mighty tail. He was about to strike again when Chomper bit into one of his bony plates. His bite strength allowed him to crack the plate, and his teeth sunk in.

Luckily for Spike, this didn't hurt him. He tried to buck the sharptooth off of him, but it was no use. As he continued doing so, his tail accidentally struck the wall. The fragile sharp tooth-shaped rocks fell down in hundreds.

"Run!" Littlefoot shouted. He, Rex, Petrie, and Ali ran outside. They could hear the crashing sounds of the rocks, and dust flew into the air. They coughed and wheezed as the rocks continued to fall. The ground started to shake, and the teens fell down, except Petrie who remained airborne. But even though he was in the air, he could still feel the ground shaking as though he was on the ground himself.

Finally the rocks stopping falling. Littlefoot and the others looked at the cave entrance. The opening was still there, but the pile of sharply edged rocks piled up, almost barracading them out. There was only one opening, and it looked about the same size as Petrie. The loud sound was gone completely, replaced with an eerie silence.

"Spike...?" Petrie whispered, but no one responded. The group closed their eyes in dismay.

"We found you!" The group whirled around to see three figures running towards them. They were identified as Mr. Threehorn, Ducky, and Tria.

"What are you guys down here?" Littlefoot asked a bit quietly.

Mr. Threehorn was the first to answer. "Why, looking for you of course. Where have you been?"

Littlefoot glared at him. "Where does it look like?" He gestured towards the cave.

Ducky coughed. "Where's Spike? He ran out ahead."

Rex closed his eyes and shook his head. "He's...in there." He turned his head and looked at the cave. Ducky looked to see that rocks had fallen from the ceiling, and there was no way in. She could feel tears filling her eyes already, even though they weren't sure Spike was dead.

"No..." She whispered. "No..."

Tria closed her eyes. "He sacrificed himself...to save you?" The response given to her was a single nod from the four friends who were once held captive by Chomper.

Littlefoot suddenly remembered something. He lowered his head and gently nudged Ducky. She opened her misty eyes. "Ducky...? We figured out why the sharptooth knew our names."

"Oh...?" She quietly said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Yes. It's...Chomper."

Ducky was just as shocked as Littlefoot was when he learned the truth. "What..? That can't be true...no no no..."

Petrie flew down. "It true, Ducky. It true."

"You're alive...?" Ducky couldn't register the happiness in her mind when Topsy stepped in.

"Chomper...? You know that sharptooth?"

Littlefoot and Petrie gulped as they stared into the threehorn's eyes. They were narrowed, almost angry. They knew they couldn't lie, not in front of the counsel leader. They knew this day would come. But they didn't know that when the day would come, the sharptooth would have turned on them. They knew they had to tell the truth.

"Yes..." Petrie answered.

Topsy narrowed his eyes a bit further. "How...?"

Littlefoot answered this time. "Remember when I was a kid, when two sharpteeth for the first time broke into the valley?"

The threehorn nodded. "What about it?"

"We met Chomper at that time..." 


	15. Survival and Death

Part II: The Foreboding

Before Topsy had a chance to demand an explaination, they suddenly heard a low rumbling sound. Rocks began rolling off the side of the pile that had formed just minutes earlier. The group turned their attention to it. The rocks continued shaking, and rolling. Pebbles first rolled down, and then rocks, and finally a few boulders. A low moaning could be heard.

Ducky perked up, her eyes filled with hope. "S-S-Spike...?"

As if on cue, a beaked green head poked through the rumble, large lazy purple eyes staring at her with a look of pain and confusion. "What happen...?" The shaky voice muttered. The large stegosaurus suddenly stumbled through the pile, having no injuries except a few small cuts and scrapes.

"Spike!" Ducky shouted with glee, and rushed towards her injured brother. "You're alive!"

Spike winced as Ducky wrapped her arms around his neck. He smiled faintly. "Messa okay. Nearly die, though." He licked her face.

"I'm so glad you're all right." Ducky whispered.

The others looked happy as well. Only Littlefoot wasn't cheering. He was busy eyeing the rock pile. It wasn't only Spike that was causing those rocks to move. If Dil and Ichy survived, then they wouldn't have much to worry about. But if Chomper survived, that's a whole different story.

"Littlefoot?" Rex said, looking at his longneck friend.

"Hmm?"

"What are you looking at?"

"Oh...nothing." Littlefoot lied, quickly turning his head away from the rock pile. Rex didn't look convinced, and expressed it with a small glare. Littlefoot gulped. "Okay, okay... I was looking at the gathering of rocks over there." He gestured towards it with his head. "I don't think Spike's the only one who survived."

Rex nodded. "My thoughts exactly. Chomper's pretty tough." He reluctantly admitted.

They were interrupted by Mr. Threehorn, who was walking towards them with a serious look on his face. "All right, you two. You say you know the sharptooth's name is Chomper. Does this mean you know him personally?" He asked in an accusing tone.

Tria was standing right beside him. "Now now, dear. Don't get too mad."

Mr. Threehorn smiled softly at her for a brief moment. "I won't, I promise."

Littlefoot shook his head. He knew Mr. Threehorn wouldn't be able to keep that promise for long. He knew the threehorn still wasn't under good terms with Rex. How would he be able to handle the fact that his own daughter became friends with the very sharptooth, who in the end wound up killing her? He could only imagine Topsy going berserk and trying to kill the sharptooth himself. Maybe he'd fair better, being bigger.

"As I was trying to say before, when I and the others were still children," Littlefoot began, "We followed egg stealers into the Mysterious Beyond. We were trying to get Ducky's egg back. But we wound up taking a sharptooth's egg instead." Mr. Threehorn's eyes widened a little at this statement. "By the time we figured out it was a sharptooth's egg until it had hatched. The baby sharptooth we named Chomper, and he was...used to be...the friendliest sharptooth we met."

Littlefoot inhaled. "The two sharptooth who invaded the valley were his parents, or so we thought. They left the valley after they had found Chomper. They even saved my life when I was harrassed by the egg stealers."

Tria spoke up, "But if Chomper was your friend, why did he turn on you?"

Topsy rolled his eyes. "That's easy. He's a sharptooth! They do that."

The longneck cleared his throat. "It's because he thinks we ruined his life, and killed his real father." He closed his eyes and lowered his head a bit. "We can't convince him he's wrong. We don't know what to do."

"Well I know!" The male threehorn raised his head high in the air. "We must kill him!"

Ducky looked a bit shocked. "What?"

"It's the only way!" The old threehorn shouted.

Rex looked at Littlefoot. "I hate to admit it, but for once I agree with the old guy." Littlefoot looked at him. "I mean, we can't talk him out of this. You saw the look in his eyes, Littlefoot. He's serious."

Littlefoot nodded. "Yes, I know. I know."

"Look out!" shouted Tria all of a sudden. There was a loud crash! Then something knocked into Mr. Threehorn, something large and heavy. The threehorn cried out in pain as he rolled across the dirty floor, feeling a few of his bones crack under the pressure. "No!" The female triceratops crushed towards her fallen friend. Before she could reach him, a set of sharp horns thrust towards her, knocking her away!

"Chomper!" Rex cried out angrily. "Why did you do that!"

The blue sharptooth, who apparently survived, scowled. He ignored Chomper, and turned his direction towards Spike. "Spike, you may have succeeded in killing my two henchmen, but you failed to have killed me..." He started walking towards that direction. "Now there's no landslide you can cause out here... Time for a rematch, Spike."

Suddenly Ali jumped in the way. "No...if you're going to fight anyone, it's me!" She shouted bravely. Chomper chuckled at this, but said nothing. At this point, he didn't care who he fought. Ali may not have been there when he was taken away from his real father, but she was still prey in his eyes. "I won't let you hurt him!"

Chomper could hear Mr. Threehorn's groans of pain, and suddenly got a different idea. He loved to make others suffer, even if they aren't his targets. He knew Tria loved Mr. Threehorn. He turned and walked away from Ali, confusing her. He made his way towards the wounded threehorn, and stood next to him. "I got a better idea." He announced, raising his clawed foot. "I'd rather stall my time killing you. Today will not be the day."

As soon as he said that, he kicked his foot down, and made deep gashes in the threehorn's side. The threehorn cried out in severe pain as blood rushed from his side. Chomper then opened his mouth and closed it around Mr. Threehorn's face. The entire group, including Tria, could only close their eyes and turn their heads away as the sharptooth crushed Topsy's head just as he crushed Cera's head. Tria was sobbing softly as her old friend was killed right in front of her.

Blood spilled all over the place, and bits of bone clung to the sharptooth's mouth. He smiled, exposing his teeth. They had pieces of bone and flesh and were stained with blood. "You are right, Littlefoot. Very right. I do like to kill more than I like to eat." He laughed.

Rex felt a few tears curl down his face. "Why you...monster... Why must you keep killing? Why!" He took a step forward. "Haven't you forgotten the adventures we used to have together?"

Chomper didn't flinch. "Those are behind me now."

Rex was about to charge forward when he was interrupted by Littlefoot. "No, you're still a little hurt. Maybe you should heal a bit first before attacking, Rex."

Rex shook his head. "No, Littlefoot. I have to fight him...now."

Chomper smiled. "How touching..." He whispered. Then he said loudly, "If you wanna fight me Rex, now's the time to do it!"

Littlefoot tried to convince Rex to not attack, but he knew it was hopeless. Rex, despite the pain, was already running towards Chomper for the confrontation. This would be an interesting fight. A sharptooth against a sharptooth, claw against claw. Chomper just stood there as Rex ran towards him, mouth open and claws outstretched for battle... 


	16. First Blood of War

Part II: The Foreboding

Chomper laughed. "You really think you can take me on?" He sneered, eyes widened. Rex remained unfazed, and when he was close enough, he struck forward with his hand, cutting into his shoulder! Chomper roared in pain and fought back. He did the same thing Rex did, only this time his target was his arm. Rex howled in pain and lunged forward. It wasn't long before the two former friends were wrestling with each other. They dug their claws into each other, biting and scratching as they rolled across the battle floor, blood staining the ground.

Chomper finally managed to pin Rex on his back. The two calmed their speeding hearts with deep breaths. When Chomper was finally able to speak, he said, "I told you..." He closed his mouth, and curled his lips back to reveal all of his pointy teeth to the omnivore. Rex responded by baring his own teeth, all sharp just like Chomper's. "Why did you try to fight me?"

Rex let out a horrible growl, and sank his teeth into Chomper's arm. With a cry of pain, Chomper struggled to get the jaws unclamped off him. He used his head to slam into Rex's snout, causing the dinosaur enough pain to make him open his jaws. The horned dinosaur got off the winged dino and stepped back a few steps.

Rex hissed at Chomper. "Because, after all the adventures of the past, you turn your backs on us just because your stupid father said one thing about your past!" He stammered to his feet, and opened his wings. "Listen! How do you know he wasn't lying?"

The blue sharptooth's eyes glinted. "He was my father. He wouldn't lie to me."

"How do you know?" Rex asked intently.

"I just know."

"I see." Rex smiled darkly. "I suppose you have already forgotten what we've been through. Haven't you?" The smile faded. He started walking towards Chomper.

Chomper chuckled. "Heh. No I haven't." He closed his eyes. "I don't have amnesia, you know."

The winged dinosaur continued his advancement. The blue dinosaur remained still as stone, cold red eyes glaring his way. The winged dinosaur returned this look mutually. The others that were there backed away several yards to give the two room to fight. Littlefoot watched, and wished Rex would have taken his advice and not fight Chomper.

"I hope he'll be okay." He murmured.

"He will be. No worry." Petrie chimed, hovering above Littlefoot's head.

"I sure hope you're right..."

Rex and Chomper were now circling each other, staring at each other, almost as if testing each other's strengths just by watching the other's movements. Their heads were lowered, prepared to launch a bite attack if necessary.

Rex spoke, "If that is true, Chomper, then why are you doing this?" He finally stops moving, and straightens himself. "You wouldn't be doing this if you remembered." He was only trying to fool himself. While Rex was now standing still, Chomper was still circling him. The carnivore didn't answer the omnivore's question. He just continued walking around like a shark circles something it's curious about. Rex tried to follow Chomper's movements, and felt intimidated whenever he couldn't see him.

Chomper continued circling Rex, and while he was doing so, he started closing the distance between him and Rex. As he did so, Rex felt a fear bolt strike his spine. He wouldn't know where Chomper would stop or how close he would be. He didn't know if he should attack, or if that was a trap. Chomper kept getting closer and closer. The wide grin plastered on his snout remained there the whole time. From the look in his eye, Rex could tell that Chomper had something in mind.

"You think you know me?" He said softly as he got behind Rex. He was so close that Rex could feel the hot breath of the killer on the back of his neck. He let out an easy soft whimper, afraid that if he dare move, the sharptooth could bite his neck. "You know nothing..."

Suddenly Rex turned around. Chomper wasn't taken aback. He never planned on sinking his teeth into his neck. "What are you talking about!" Rex suddenly took Chomper by his shoulders and shoved him back. "Of course I know you! We are...were... friends!"

Chomper cocked an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

Rex thought Chomper has lost it. He was acting like he never saw him before! "What is wrong with you? What has that idiotic father done to you!"

Chomper's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Don't you speak about my dad that way..."

Rex let out a cold laughter. "Why not? He's the one who messed you up!"

Chomper growled angrily. "Stop it!"

But Rex didn't stop. "He screwed you up big time!"

The horned sharptooth was getting extremely angry! "I'm warning you..."

"He brainwashed you, used you! The no good..."

Rex was suddenly cut off as the large sharptooth rammed into his side! Rex screamed as he fall onto his back. He could feel the warm blood oozing from the gash he just recieved. He looked up fearfully and saw Chomper towering over him. The red eyes glaring at him looked like they were glowing an evil shine. Chomper was so full of rage that he could only manage to utter one word, "You..."

Rex gasped and tried to use his wings to fly away. Chomper saw this coming and immediately pinned Rex down once again. "Just stop this!" Rex pleaded. "Why can't you understand?"

Blood red eyes widened with a glinting of hate. "I understand this: I must kill you all." He opend his mouth and was going to use his sharp teeth to rip out the winged one's wings. "This won't hurt...for long."

"Neither will this!" Rex pulled his foot back and kicked into Chomper's abdomen. The sudden attack in the vulnerable area was enough to bring the killer to his knees. Rex kicked him again, this time in the head. The sharptooth fell onto the ground. This bought Rex enough time to get up to his feet. "Don't you see what he's done to you..." He whispered softly.

Chomper got up onto his feet. "He made me a great warrior." He smiled darkly, licking his lips. "I am starting to get...hungry."

The winged dinosaur gulped. He didn't like the look in the sharptooth's eye now. It was the look of hunger. And Rex knew all too well of the instinct that takes over when a sharptooth is hungry and sees blood. He would have to engage in battle once more.

"I was thinking of swimmer." Chomper's gaze shifted towards the audience, glued onto Ducky. He hadn't forgotten how he almost got to taste her blood the first night he was in the Great Valley as an adolescent.

A snarl escaped from Rex's throat. "If you want her, you'd have to go through me first!"

"As you wish..." Chomper dashed forward, mouth opened fully. Rex lowered his head and prepared to strike forward. The blue sharptooth headbutted into Rex again, but this time Rex was prepared. He grabbed a hold of Chomper's skull and pushed him into the ground. Before the sharptooth could get up, he had him pinned down.

He pushed his snout against Chomper's, two angry looks locking onto each other. "Leave them alone..."

Chomper asked, "Why?"

"They're your family."

Chomper laughed coldly. "Family? That's a good one!" Rex narrowed his eyes. "If they were my family, why did they seperate me from my real father? If they hadn't done that, I wouldn't have suffered like I did!" He shoved Rex off of him. "You know...I was going to spare your pathetic life, Rex..."

Rex shook his head and looked up. Chomper was advancing towards him with a dark smile. "But since you insist on protecting them..." His eyes shifted towards Littlefoot for a second, then back to Rex. "I suppose I'll have to kill you now."

"Let me see you try..." Rex struggled to his feet. "I doubt you can kill me."

Chomper grinned. This looked like a challenge to him. "Don't think having wings can save you." He flexed his claws threateningly. "Remember, I captured Petrie and he's a flyer."

Even though he was a good distance away, Petrie heard that comment. "That only because me was asleep!"

Chomper laughed. "So what?" He shouted to Petrie. He turned his attention back to Rex. "You see, when I was being trained, I was also trained in how to combat with a winged opponent." He chuckled. "So whether you're flying or not...I can kill you..." He raised his foot and slashed Rex in the leg.

Letting out a loud cry of pain, Rex backed away. Blood dripped from the cuts. Despite the great pain, however, Rex stood his ground. "There is no way you can beat me!" He bared his teeth.

Chomper half-closed his eyes. "Did you fight among dinosaurs for most of your life? Were you trained specifically how to kill? Were you raised around natural born predators? I don't think so."

Rex snarled, "It's war." He was about to say something else, but something caught his attention. It even distracted Chomper from what he was going to do. They could feel it, a disturbance in the earth. They could feel the ground shaking, rumbling. Petrie looked up, and his eyes widened in horror.

"We gotta run now!" The ground's vibrations were strengthening.

"Why!" Littlefoot shouted over the commotion the earthshake was creating.

"Smoking Mountain! It erupting!"

Littlefoot gasped in horror. While he knew they were safe from the boiling hot lava, with the size of Smoking Mountain, the eruption itself could cause a landslide. They had to get out of there right away! "Come on! Let's get out of here!"

(A/N I haven't seen Land Before Time 2 in a long time, so I cannot remember how big Smoking Mountain was.) 


	17. Retreat

Part II: The Foreboding

The earthquake started getting worse. As the gang ran as fast as they could, they were having trouble keeping themselves balanced. Some nearly fell over as the shakes grew stronger. They could hear a loud banging noise, and knew that the mountain was erupting. They had to get into the valley quickly. There was a good chance that the quake could seal them outside the valley.

"Can't we go any faster!" The loud rumbling was so loud that in order to hear each other, they had to scream. Ducky shouted at the top of her lungs, and still her voice was barely audible to the other members of the group.

"I...don't...know!" Littlefoot responded. "Where..is...the...closest...entrance...Tria!" He was trying to catch his breath. Littlefoot was growing tired from the running. They had to get inside quickly. They couldn't keep this up forever.

Tria looked at Littlefoot. "I don't know! Maybe Petrie can tell us!"

The longneck smiled faintly. "That's...a...good..idea...Petrie! Fly...up!"

The flyer soared up high enough to see the valley surrounded by its walls. His keen eyes searched frantically for an opening they could squeeze through. As he scanned, he finally found an opening. But as he looked at it, he knew that to get through here, they'd have to destroy a rock formation. The formation did look very familiar, but he couldn't quite figure it out.

The formation was tall and spikey. It had a small curving tunnel that would lead into the valley. But the opening was too small. They'd have to have Tria and Spike make the opening bigger, even if it means destroying the formation. Petrie looked for any other way the was closest. He saw none. This was their only closest chance to get back in the valley before they could potentially be sealed out forever.

Petrie then remembered Chomper. He had to have come into the valley somehow. Could there be another opening he got into? He couldn't take forever on this, he knew. The others were running out of time. They would have no choice but to go the rock formation and destroy it to get inside.

Satisfied, Petrie flew back down and hovered in front of Littlefoot. "Littlefoot! There is a small opening up there!" He pointed in the general direction. "But me thinks Spike and Tria have to destroy pile of rocks to get in!"

Littlefoot stared in surprise. "Is there any other way!"

The flyer shook his head. "No." Then he thought for a moment. "Well there be the way Chomper came in, but it may be too far away. This is closest entrance."

Littlefoot closed his eyes. "All right! Come on!"

The group headed up towards the area Petrie had just flown from. When they reached it, they noticed that it was on a hill. The rock formation was pretty big, but it should be no problem for Tria and Spike. As Littlefoot looked at it, he couldn't help but think that the spot looked very familiar. From where they were, the earthshakes weren't as loud, so they could speak softer now.

"I could've sworn I've been here before..." He wasn't the only one feeling deja vu.

"Me too." Petrie admitted.

"Messa remember." Spike chimed in.

"It does look familiar, yep yep yep." Ducky said.

Ali and Rex walked over. Rex was still hurt, but managed to continue walking without assistance. He looked at his longneck friend and said, "If you don't mind, we'd like to get in sometime before tomorrow." He smiled a little, and winced as he felt a sharp pain.

Ali nodded. "The sooner we get in, the better." She looked back at where the cave was. "We can only hope that the earthshake will keep Chomper busy long enough for us to get inside before he finds us."

Rex turned his head towards Ali. "Wouldn't he just run? I mean, he isn't stupid enough to stand in the middle of a..."

Ali interrupted him. "Yes he is." She took a step forward. "He will boldly face any natural disaster. Things like whirlwinds and lightning don't scare him."

Tria cocked an eyebrow. "So you're telling us that maniac could track us up here, even during an eruption, and attack?"

Ali nodded. "That's why we've got to keep moving. Try to break that rock the fastest way possible!"

Tria and Spike looked at each other, and nodded. As they studied the rocks, they could locate a few weak points that would cause the thing to collapse if struck hard enough. They approached those points. Spike raised his strong tail and struck as hard as he could. The rock started to break away. He struck it again, and the formation was starting to collapse. Tria walked to the other side, and used her strong horns to smash away the second weak spot.

The formation started to collapse. Huge boulders starting racing down towards the group. Ali gulped. "Maybe we should've gotten out of the way first..."

They rushed to all the sides as the boulders and rocks and pebbles rolled down the hill. The rumbling caused the ground to shake even more, and some of the members lost their balance and fell to the ground. As Littlefoot witnessed the formation fall to pieces, a flash of memory entered his mind. As the rocks continued to fall, Littlefoot suddenly remembered what this place was.

Voices filled his head. They echoed in his brain. They whispered into his ear. They sent a volt up his spine.

"Littlefoot, you found it!"

"We did it! We did it together!"

"Mother? I tried to do what you told me. But it's just too hard. I-I'll never find the Great Valley..."

"Littlefoot...Littlefoot...Littlefoot..."

"Don't go mother! Don't go!"

"The Great Valley... Cera, Spike, Ducky, Petrie! Over here!"

The voices echoed inside his head. Memories flooded his mind. As he closed his eyes and reopened them, and saw the formation fall to pieces completely, he felt a small pain in his heart.

Ali gently nudged Littlefoot. "What's wrong?"

"I-I remember this place..." Ducky, and Petrie looked at him. "I-It's where I first entered the valley..." He took in a deep breath. "This is the spot, where I found the pathway into the valley. I could remember, how happy I was, how happy my friends where."

Ducky and Petrie's eyes went wide. They stared up where the rock formation used to be. And now they, too, could remember things from long ago, when they first arrived in the valley. "This is where we almost lost Petrie, too." Her weary eyes looked down at the large pool where they killed a sharptooth.

Petrie shuddered. "Don't remind me about that!" He folded his wings around himself. "Me surprised I got loose in time."

Tria and Spike started walking back. Spike shouted, "If zee wanna get in before bad shake closes us up, best get going!"

Tria agreed. "He's right! We gotta get going!"

Rex, Spike, Tria, Ducky, and Petrie started heading up towards the newly exposed opening. But Littlefoot and Ali stayed behind. As the earthquake was starting to grow softer, Littlefoot still had his eyes glued on the opening where he first entered the valley. Then he raised his head towards a taller formation that stood next to it. He could spy the small platform that he stood on when he talked to his mother in the sky.

Ali nuzzled him. "You never told me what happend to your mother." She looked into his eyes. "Do you want to tell me about it...?"

Littlefoot closed his eyes and looked away. "She died saving me from a sharptooth..."

The female longneck's eyes widened. "I-I'm so sorry to hear that."

"It's all right." He whispered. He let out a long sigh. "Well we better get going."

"Yes, let's go." She followed Littlefoot towards the opening. As they disappeared, a cloud of mist sank towards the ground. As it dispersed, a single female longneck stood there. She was bigger than Littlefoot and Ali. She had a brownish color with a dark brown stripe that connected from the tip of her snout towards the tip of her tail.

The ghostly longneck walked forward a little. As she watched the others disappear into the valley, a smile came across her face. And then she spoke softly, her words sounding like they were with the wind. "Prepare yourself, Littlefoot... A battle is coming... And when it does...you must be willing to sacrifice everything...to save the ones you love..." Then the ghost longneck disappeared.

Littlefoot felt his heart skip a beat as he heard the voices in the wind. He turned his head around. "Mother...?" But he could see nothing.

Ali looked at him. "What's wrong?"

Littlefoot answered, "I thought I heard my mother..."

"It was probably just the wind."

"Yeah.. you're probably right..." He couldn't help but think about that voice he had just heard. He whispered, "What did she mean by...sacrifice...?" 


	18. The Sudden Strike

Part II: The Foreboding

(A/N Sorry if this chapter is a bit...sloppy. I got on the computer late and was very tired when I wrote this chapter.)

Chomper watched the display of volcanic activity as the leaf-eaters fled back into the Great Valley. As he noticed something fall down, his curiousity overwhelmed him. If something fell down, that meant that something was destroyed. And if something was destroyed, perhaps it left a new vulnerable area. The thought pleased him and he clearly showed it with a sneer on his face. Using his strong feet he easily scaled the hill despite the earthshake. As he closed in where the leaf-eaters had been, he noticed a large pile of boulders. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at it. It was low enough to cross over, yet looked a bit too unstable.

"This might be too dangerous for a sharptooth to cross..." He said to himself. Then he thought it over. While this gape was still a bit unstable, the leaf-eaters still crossed it. They would have had to, to get back inside. If a lumbering leaf-eater like Littlefoot could cross it, why not a sharptooth? Sharpteeth weren't as heavy and could move faster than some of the large leaf-eaters.

Chomper smiled. "This'll have to do, I suppose." He closed his eyes. "Another way into the valley. Perfect. I couldn't have wished for a better present today." He laughed coldly and walked away.

Back in the valley, Littlefoot and the others rushed down the steep hill back into the valley. Many lost their footing and began rolling down instead. Ducky, for instance, couldn't handle the speed that picked up in her gait as she headed downhill and ended up tripping over her own tail. Littlefoot was one of the few lucky ones. He used his feet to grip the ground as he slid down, which provided enough traction to keep himself from collapsing.

As the group made it to the bottom, some struggling to their feet while others regaining their senses, they looked around slowly, and they could quickly see Smoking Mountain spewing up lava and, of course, smoke. They had events like this before. They just had to stay away from the volcano until it settled down.

"I do not know when Smoking Mountain will stop, no no no." Ducky said quietly as she stared at the firey red glow.

Rex shook his head. "Nobody ever does. But shouldn't we be heading to a safer location?"

Littlefoot said, "No, this is the safest place, Rex. Nowhere else to go."

Petrie gulped and flew up to Littlefoot. He landed on the longneck's head and hugging him tightly. "Me too young to die." The longneck rolled his eyes.

"Relax, we just have to keep our distance."

Chomper walked among the boulders that had fallen during the earthshake. He grumbled as he constantly shifted left to right. It took him so long to find the path that led back to Fortress Valley. Once he found it, he continued along. He had to return to tell the others the good news. As he reached the wall of spikey plants, he took one last look in the direction of the Great Valley. As he stared, his heart panged with hatred. "Soon, the valley will be ours..." He hissed between his teeth.

It was his life-long dream to enslave the Great Valley and make it the second Fortress Valley. It would be another sharptooths' paradise! "Sharpteeth are the true masters." He had said once. His father had taught him well.

"Rex was a fool to mock my father." Chomper sneered. "If my father was still alive, he'd rip that stupid meat-eater into shreds!" He curled his claws threateningly.

When he reached the boulder, he pushed it aside and stepped in. While the path was pitch black, he knew it well and could make his way blindfolded. He stepped back into the light, and walked among his fellow sharpteeth. Some greeted him while others ignored him. When he looked one way, he could see a small longneck being herded into the Feeding Area. He smiled coldly. That is what he had in mind for Littlefoot.

(A/N Finbacks are Spinosaurus, not Dimetrodons, btw.)

The Feeding Area was a large area near the side of the valley. There was only one way out and it was guarded by two of the largest sharpteeth of the area, Bruce and Wren, who were two finbacks. Bruce was red with pale yellow spots while Wren was green with black stripes. They would make sure that no leaf-eater escaped the Feeding Area. The area was closed off as best as they could. The leaf eaters herded inside there were knocked out with a boulder, and they were gathered in the middle.

Sharpteeth can see perfectly well in the dark, but most leaf-eaters could not. The sharpteeth were at an unfair advantage, and they loved it. The young ones would cower together to give each other support, and the sharpteeth would pick them off one by one. Some of the meat-eaters made sure to make their victims suffer a long time. One of them actually ripped off the limbs of the child and left him like that for ten minutes before ending his agony by swallowing him whole!

Chomper was always amused by the Feeding Area. It was also a good place for torture. Chomper looked at his claws as he imagined the whole thing. He could imagine his claws deep inside Littlefoot's skull, smashing his brain open. He could imagine him ripping his throat out with his large sharp teeth. He could imagine breaking Littlefoot's legs with a single kick from his leg. The mental picture was so soothing for the sharptooth that he started drooling.

"Chomper?"

Chomper snapped out of his daze. He opened his eyes and looked around. He couldn't see anyone in front of him. "Hello? Who's there?"

"Down here."

Chomper looked down. "Oh, it's you Blueye. What do you want?" Chomper still found her a bit annoying, but after living in Fortress Valley for so long he's grown used to her company.

Blueye cleared her throat. "The troops have trained just as you wished, sire. They're ready when you are!" She saluted Chomper, and then walked away. She had done her job.

Chomper smirked inwardly. He had told Blueye to train a pack of a couple sharpteeth to invade the Great Valley. He does not expect to win, but after the battle, win or lose, he would gain more knowledge of their fighting abilities and be able to work out conterattacks for each one! The group of sharpteeth were mainly the same sharpteeth his surrogate parents were. They weren't incredibly strong but strong enough to defend themselves if need be.

Chomper looked up at the skies and realized it was already getting a bit late. But he knew a night strike would be great. It would catch Littlefoot off guard. Chomper chuckled coldly. The others must be so tired that they wouldn't be prepared for a sudden attack!

"Troop Zeta!" He shouted. Without a word, a pack of up to six sharpteeth showed up. Some were darkly colored while others lightly colored. They remained quiet as Chomper marched back and front in front of them, his red eyes glued on them and their every move. "Tonight, you six will be sent to the Great Valley to test out the strength of our enemy." The sharpteeth nodded. "But don't hesitate to kill if you need to."

The sharpteeth nodded once again. "Before I dismiss you, please note that if you find the longneck named Littlefoot, tell him that he's mine. He and I will fight each other...to the death." He smiled as he said the word 'death'. He finally waved his arm at them, dismissing them. The sharpteeth knew the routine and left for the Great Valley. Chomper told them of one way in, and sharpteeth never forget.

Unbenownst to the sharpteeth, a pair of watchful eyes stared at what was going on. The figure, in the shadows, seemed to be panicked. "Oh no! They're planning some sort of...invasion!" The shadowy creature, turning out to be a flyer, spread out his wings and jumped off the tree branch. His wings caught the wind and he was carried off high into the air. He changed course and headed straight to the Great Valley. "I must warn them!"

Back at the cave that smashed in, a sudden moaning was heard. Well only heard by the little creatures that scurried over there during the earthshake. Something was moving inside the cave. The earthshake had busted the rock wall completely, allowing whatever was inside to come out. A figure drugged itself out, and collapsed due to exhaustion. As it opened his eyes, a red glow filled the orbs inside its head.

Then something else stumbled out as well. It was much smaller than the other, and instead of red eyes, this one had yellow. The second creature shook itself off, and looked over at the exhausted figure. "We must find them, Dil..."

Back in the Great Valley, Littlefoot had walked off with Ali. He said he wanted to alone with her for a while, to calm down a bit. He was going to talk to her about a bit more of his past. Ali seemed to be very understanding of Littlefoot's situation. In fact, like how Littlefoot lost his mom when he was young, Ali lost her dad when she was young. She said he wasn't killed by a sharptooth. She claims it was some sort of illness that killed him. Unlike Littlefoot's grandpa's illness he had that one time, this illness had no cure. Ali could only watch in horror as her father slowly died in front of her eyes.

Ducky and Petrie sat down together. The Smoking Mountain had finally stopped erupting. But smoke still came out of the volcano. The smoke filling the air made it look like clouds were forming. But the two knew better.

"I wonder what's gonna happen now..." Ducky whispered.

"Me no know..." Petrie murmured.

Suddenly a scream tore through the valley. Petrie and Ducky jumped to their feet as something zipped past them. They quickly turned around to find two creatures struggling with each other across the floor. They couldn't tell who they were, but they could tell one of them had sharp teeth.

Ducky narrowed her eyes and charged forward. Using her strong tail, she struck the sharptoothed creature. It squealed and squawked angrily. She struck it again, this time knocking it out. As she observed, she realized what it was. It was a flying sharptooth. They were very vicious, sometimes even more so than land sharpteeth. Then she looked at the second creature. It too was a flyer and had sharp claws, but its beak was toothless.

She took a step closer to get a better look. When the flyer turned around to look into the eyes of its savior, Ducky could not believe her eyes. "It's you..."

Neither did Petrie. "Uncle Pterano!" He yelped in surprise.

Pterano smiled, but brushed himself off as he stood up. "No time for introductions, my dear nephew." He opened his wingspan. "Your valley is in grave danger!"

Ducky looked confused. "In danger? From what?"

Pterano heard something roar very close by. Ducky and Petrie heard it too. "That! Sharpteeth, coming this way!" He panted as he caught his breath. "Flying sharptooth attacked me, tried to make sure I couldn't warn you in time!"

As the roar sounded out again, this time much closer, Ducky looked in the direction Littlefoot was in. She looked back at Pterano and Petrie. She couldn't believe how much they looked alike now. "You two, warn as many as you can! I'll find the others!"

Petrie and Pterano nodded and they flew off. Ducky watched them leave. When they were gone, she heard another sharptooth roar. She panicked and fled, letting her fear take over... 


	19. Second Meeting

Part II: The Foreboding

Rex slumped against the side of the rocky structure in the middle of the valley. It was the meeting place. Rex moaned in pain and lifted his arm to himself. He slowly licked the gash that now snaked deep inside his arm. Pain seered all over his body. "Man, I should've just sit out of the fight..." He grumbled to himself. He was in no position to fight. He'd have to let his wounds heal.

Petrie and Pterano perched themselves nearby. They escaped without too much injury. Pterano had trouble flying now because there was a little rip in his wing membrane. Petrie had a little scratch on his chest, but was otherwise fine. Next to them stood Ducky. She had a few cuts and scrapes, but nothing that would prove to be fatal. Spike, however, lost one of his spikes and a few of his plates were now busted. Littlefoot now adorned a cut very similar to what the lone dinosaur has, only on the opposite eye. Ali only had a single deep gash in her left leg, though.

Rex slightly glared at her, and said, "Lucky."

Ali sighed. "It's not my fault I'm better at fighting than you are, Rex." She smiled softly.

He rolled his eyes. "I know, I know. But still, you lucky." He winced as pain entered his mind once again. Ali tilted her head and walked over.

"Need some help?"

"No! I'm fine!" Rex snapped.

"Okay, suit yourself."

Littlefoot had called a meeting, but unlike the last meeting, this meeting will only consist of a smaller group of dinosaurs. In the meeting, there was himself, Rex, Petrie, Pterano, Ali, Tria, Ducky, Spike, Thicknose, Dina, Dana, Hyp, Nod, and Mutt. There was also Charlie and Serena, the rainbow faces that Littlefoot met when he was little. Everyone in the valley knew that they held a few magical tricks, and Littlefoot believed that they would be an important asset. Hyp was the smallest, of course, but his strong-willed attitude made him a tough opponent, and thanks to his dad's training, he could take on even the largest of sharpteeth. Mutt was still a bit absent minded, but his strong body was perfect for battle. Nod didn't look different except he was larger, and his armored back made him difficult to beat.

Littlefoot walked in front of the small group of dinosaurs. He wanted to keep it small so that it would be easier to decide on what they should do. He had sent Petrie to tell everyone in the valley of what was going on. Petrie had also told the ones who couldn't come to the meeting that he would update things for them as soon as he could. Littlefoot was not sure if they should head towards Fortress Valley or not. And if they decide to go, they'd have to bring a lot more dinosaurs with them.

"I suppose some of you are wondering why you were called here today." He scanned the group. None of them seemed to indicate an answer. They remained looking emotionless as they waited politely for Littlefoot to continue. An angry scowl from Hyp made Littlefoot continue his speech. "Today we were just attacked by a pack of sharpteeth." A murmur developed among those who did not witness the fight. "It seems we were wrong about the sharptooth kind."

Nod spoke up. "What do you mean? What were we wrong about them?"

Thicknose had to agree. The old dinosaur took a step forward. "They aren't very bright, or..."

Littlefoot shook his head. "That was a grave mistake we leaf-eaters have all made. We have underestimated the sharpteeth." The group started again with its nervous chatter. Hyp decided to say something this time around.

"So how do you know we underestimated them?"

"It seems the sharpteeth have a valley of their own, somewhere nearby." Littlefoot waited for the clamor to die down before he continued. "It is guarded heavily, but there is a way in. We just have to find it."

Dina took a step forward. "You mean we have to go to this...sharptooth-infested valley?" Dina and Dana did have their brow horns, but they were shorter than what Cera's was.

Littlefoot shook his head. "We are not sure. But we do know this: there is a massive army of sharpteeth living in that valley, and if what that one sharptooth said was true, then the valley is a haven for sharpteeth but horrid for leaf-eaters. They will capture, torture, butcher, and eat any leaf-eater, especially the kids." There was a collective gasp. "The place is known as Fortress Valley."

Pterano cleared his throat. "Might I suggest a stealthy act? Maybe sneak into the valley and discover their weaknesses?"

"That would be a good idea, Pterano, except we don't know the entrance of the valley, and from what Chomper told us, it's heavily guarded at the entrance." He then looked at the group. "If we were to sneak into the valley the same way that Chomper does, then we'd be in big trouble. They have two sharpteeth at that entrance." He closed his eyes. "We'd have to find another way."

Pterano thought for a moment. "Perhaps Petrie and I could flew through the area and see if we can find a place you can climb up."

Petrie said, "But what about flying sharpteeth?"

Pterano snapped his finger. "Oh darn!"

"Wait! Those flying sharpteeth who attacked you, I believe they sleep during the night like the rest of us." Thicknose smiled a bit slyly. "As long as you are quiet, you could sneak past them."

Pterano smiled. "That sounds good. What do you think, nephew?"

Petrie thought about it. He finally nodded. "Me thinks it good idea. Might just work."

Tria decided to speak this time. "It's still very dangerous. Even if you manage to locate a path to take, like you said, Littlefoot, there are hundreds of sharpteeth in that valley. Wouldn't we have to take hundreds of dinosaurs with us as well?"

The longneck nodded. "Yes. We'd probably have to take nearly all the dinosaurs in this valley. Maybe even more. Those sharpteeth are well trained and will be even tougher than normal sharpteeth."

The female threehorn narrowed her eyes. "Then shouldn't we just stay here then?"

"No. If we do, they'll invade this valley and we'll be completely ill prepared for battle."

"I've got my horns!"

Littlefoot nodded once. "Yes, you do. But how well can you use them if you're sleeping?"

Tria cocked a brow. "What?"

"How do you know the sharpteeth won't come at night and kill you as you sleep?" Tria didn't answer. "We need to go into battle if we want to live. Of course, the other option is to go into the Valley of Mists."

Ali looked at him in horror. "What are you thinking!" She ran up to him. "You can't go there! It's too dangerous!"

Littlefoot gave her a sorrowful look. "I know, Ali, but Chomper doesn't know about that place, I hope. We could live there for a while until the threat goes away. But that's only a last resort."

"I say we go into Fortress Valley and kick all those sharpteeth butts!" Hyp shouted, fists clenched tightly. "I want to get them back for what they did to my dad!" A sharptooth strayed from the pack and killed Hyp's father.

"But shouldn't we think this through first?" Asked Dana.

"No! We must go to battle!" Shouted Nod, his eyes glaring and determined.

Back in Fortress Valley, a red sharptooth named Crimson was escorting Dil and Ichy to their den. They had came into the valley, harmed by a rock fall. Chomper had ordered them to be taken to a den where they could rest a few days and heal. He was surprised that they had survived. Now knowing about their incredible survival skills, he wanted them to be part of the invasion.

Suddenly he noticed that the sharpteeth he had sent into the valley before had returned. They all had injuries on them, but they proudly showed no signs of pain. They stood as straight as they could, in soldier style. Chomper approached the group, and paced back and forth in front of them.

"Well? What's the news?" He asked coolly.

One of the sharpteeth replied, "Message delivered, sir!"

Chomper smiled. "And how did they take it?"

"The one called Littlefoot is deciding whether or not to invade Fortress Valley, sir!"

This caught Chomper's attention. Was Littlefoot really going to risk coming here? The thought made him laugh coldly. They must be crazy! The walls are heavily guarded, not just the entrace. They had night watchers as well. They would be discovered for sure! Their little invasion would be all a waste. But then Chomper got an idea. What if they acted like they didn't know there was an invasion coming?

"I got an idea..." He purred threateningly. "Tell all the defenders to act off guard. Tell them to stay hidden in the shadows." He smiled. "I have a feeling the group will be coming at night."

"But which night, sir?"

"That's a good question..." He let out a loud roar, calling to a sharptooth flyer who zoomed down. As it perched on a nearby branch, Chomper addressed him, "Sierra, I want you to fly over to the Great Valley and see when those leaf-eaters plan on coming over here."

Sierra giggled evilly. "I can't wait to get my claws on Pterano... I can't believe I ever took orders from him!"

"Now now," the horned sharptooth interrupted, "don't let yourself be seen. Remember, you're a spy, not an attacker, in this situation."

The flyer growled. "Fine..." He took off towards the Great Valley.

Chomper smiled evilly as Sierra took off towards the valley. He knew it was close to battle. "Soon, Littlefoot's blood will seep through my claws..." He had no idea why he was now focused on Littlefoot. But he figured it was because he was the leader, and if he took down the leader, the rest will fall.

He dismissed the sharptooth pack, and he walked over to his den. As he stared at the sharptooth-like waterfall, he smiled hideously. "Soon, Littlefoot. Soon..." 


	20. Naive Trust

(A/N Sorry for the delay.)

Part II: The Foreboding

Sierra grumbled as he was being led towards the Meeting Place. His face was red with anger and hatred. He should've listened to Chomper. He should've just been stealthy. But no, he just had to try a frontal assault the second he saw Pterano. "I really need anger management..."

"Be quiet!" Snapped Teri. Teri was a female flyer about Petrie's age. She was dark blue with a light blue head and a golden 'ring' around her neck, and a pale yellow beak. Sierra hadn't gotten close to the meeting when he was suddenly knocked from the sky. The fall was enough to bend his beak a little and lose a tooth. He was surprised to see he was knocked down by a plant-eating female flyer, but he didn't dare fight her. Teri was larger than he was even though she was younger, and obviously stronger. He was much better off surrendering.

"Excuse me, but I don't recall telling you I was going to be quiet." He hissed, baring his teeth.

Teri rolled her eyes. "Well I say you be quiet!" She gave him a hard shove. He wabbled a little, but regained his footing. "I know about you. Pterano told me about you."

A nasty grin spread on the flying sharptooth's mouth. "Oh he has, has he?" He gave her a sideways glance. "Well you can tell Pterano that he and I have a score to settle."

Teri shook her head. "Why don't you tell that to him?"

"Don't think I won't!" He shouted almost proudly.

"Well here's your chance, sharptooth."

Sierra looked surprised. He had lost track of the time that he spent forced to walk on foot. They had already reached the Meeting Place. As Sierra looked, he noticed that most of the dinosaurs were too busy talking. But one in particular was looking straight at him. As their eyes met, a light of hate rekindled inside them.

"Sierra!"

"Pterano!"

Pterano flew a bit closer. "Teri? Why did you bring him here?"

Teri folded her wings. "He just decided to drop in, apparently." She gave Sierra a nasty glare.

Sierra chuckled, tapping his claws against a rock. "The feeling is mutual, dear Pterano..." Pterano growled as he heard those words spoken to him like he was a child. "But I didn't come here to fight you."

The male flyer didn't take his eyes off the dark flyer. "I don't believe you, Sierra." Pterano paced around Sierra. Teri took a step back to give Pterano more room. "I remember what you almost did to me in the past."

A laughter broke out. "You still upset about that! Why, Pterano, that was years ago!" He put his claws on his chest as he continued laughing dryly. "I have all but forgotten why I was so mad at you back then!"

Having been a professional lyer a few years back, Pterano could sense that Sierra was not telling the truth. He could see it in his eyes, his body language, the tone of his voice, that weird smile on his face. Something was up. But what? What was Sierra plotting? What is his plan?

Teri turned her gaze from Sierra to Pterano. "What do you think we should do with him?"

"Go talk to Littlefoot. Let him know Sierra is here." The flyer never changed the direction of his suspicious glare. "I'll talk to Sierra for a few minutes."

Teri nodded, and flew off. This left Sierra alone with Pterano. The sharptooth chuckled maniacly, "So you're alone now?"

That seemed to almost confirm Pterano's suspicions. "It is not wise to attack me here, Sierra." He folded his wings in an almost arrogant manner. "You are too close to the other dinosaurs. They'll know you are here."

The flying sharptooth formed a fist with his right wing and swung it in the air. "I told you, I'm not here to attack you!"

Pterano smiled dryly. "Then what are you here for?"

"To help you!"

"Is that true?" Pterano swerved around as he saw Littlefoot walking towards them.

"Why yes..." Sierra smiled coldly.

"Don't believe him, Littlefoot!" Pterano flew up and stared at the longneck in the eyes. "He's just like how I was years ago! You can't trust him!"

"But he's a flying sharptooth, Pterano." Littlefoot frowned slightly. "He's probably the only one here who knows exactly how to get into Fortress Valley without getting seen."

"But you know as well as I do is you can trust Sierra as far as you can throw a mountain!" Pterano snapped angrily, slapping Littlefoot on the head with his wing. "Think, Littlefoot! Think!"

The longneck snarled, but said nothing. He looked at Sierra. He, too, was doubting Sierra's words. But at this time, Sierra is the least of their problems. Littlefoot didn't know of a pathway they'd for sure never be seen, but perhaps this sharptooth did. Ignoring Pterano's warnings, Littlefoot decided to accept Sierra's help.

"I accept your help, Sierra."

Sierra smiled, tapping his claws against each other. "Excellent..." he said in a long sigh. "I'm sure you'll find me rather...helpful..." He grinned.

Teri and Pterano looked at each other. They both couldn't believe that Littlefoot was stupid enough to fall for Sierra's tricks. But since Littlefoot was now leader of the valley, they'd have to go by his word. Just hopefully his decision doesn't endanger the entire herd.

Littlefoot walked back to the group. The others were waiting for his return. As the longneck returned, they noticed that three flyers were with them. They recognized Teri and Pterano right away, but it took a while for them to make out Sierra, who was flying up so high they couldn't see him well. As he descended towards the ground, Ducky recognized him immediately.

"Sierra! Littlefoot! Why did you bring him here!"

Pterano smiled softly. "Deja vu..."

The longneck replied, "He says he can help us."

An angry Hyp stormed towards Littlefoot. "I heard stories of what that guy did. Awful things... How do you think we can trust him! For all we know, he'll be leading us right into a trap!"

"Even so, he's the only one who can lead us to an area where the sharptooth definitely won't see us." He tried to explain. "Besides, he's just one sharptooth. Not like if he turns on us all of a sudden, he'll be a threat. I could defeat him with one shot."

Hyp acknowledged that statement. "True, but still, if he leads us into an area surrounded by sharpteeth, we're done for!"

"We'll have to be willing to take that risk! Hyp, if we don't act soon, we'll have that entire valley on our tails!"

"But isn't going there just as bad?" Hyp retorted.

"At least we're prepared to fight!" Littlefoot closed his eyes. "If those sharpteeth came at night, would we be prepared to fight? No! Best to act now!"

Pterano turned his attention to Teri. "My my my, he's starting to sound like Mr. Threehorn more and more everyday..."

Teri agreed. "Looks like they were more alike then we thought..."

Hyp and Littlefoot were still arguing. "Well I say we shouldn't trust him!"

Littlefoot retorted, "But you're not the leader!"

"You're not much of a leader yourself." Hyp smiled darkly. "From what I've heard, all the adventures you've lead always resulted in a sharptooth attacking you and your friends." Littlefoot remained silent. "In fact, that's the very reason we shouldn't go with your idea, letting Sierra help us. It'll just lead into another one of those dangerous encounters."

Littlefoot growled softly. "I am the leader, and if I say he'll lead us, he'll lead us!" He pressed his face against Hyp's. "Got a problem with that, pipsqueak?" A smile curled on his lips.

Hyp gulped, realizing where Littlefoot was going with this. He couldn't fight Littlefoot and he knew that very well. "All right, fine, he'll lead us." He started walking towards Mutt and Nod. He stopped, and looked at Littlefoot through the corner of his eye. "But I'm warning you, Littlefoot. Do not blame me when we are ambushed."

The longneck rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

From behind him, Ali and Rex walked towards him. Rex was leaning against Ali for a bit of support. The male longneck turned around and found them standing there, looking at him with uncertainity.

Ali spoke first, "Littlefoot, are you sure it's wise to allow a sharptooth lead us to Fortress Valley?"

Rex agreed. "Yeah, what if Hyp's right? What if it is a trap?"

"Look, we don't have much of a choice." He sighed. "No matter if we stay here or go there, trap or no trap, we're gonna have to fight the sharpteeth."

Ali glared at him. "Littlefoot, Rex still hasn't completely healed. If he goes, he'll die for sure!"

Rex mumbled breathlessly, "Thanks for being so positive, Ali..."

Littlefoot, "I know, I know... We will be leaving in a couple days, to allow Rex to heal more."

As he talked with Ali, he had no idea that Sierra was spying on him. The flyer had perched on a nearby tree, and remained hidden in the shadows. Nobody noticed his absense. He smiled. "Chomper will be pleased..." With that, he took off and left the Great Valley. When he will return, he'll just say he was scouting the outskirts of the Great Valley to see if any sharpteeth were coming there way. Since Littlefoot gave a chance and trusted him, he would believe him.

Ali glared at Littlefoot. "I sure hope you know what you are doing."

Rex nodded. "I hope so as well."

Littlefoot looked up towards the sky. "I know. I know." With that, he turned around and walked away.

Ali and Rex looked at each other, shrugged, and followed Littlefoot. And as this was happening, Sierra was returning to Fortress Valley... 


	21. Sharpteeth Rally Up

Part III: The War

Sierra flew over the rocky mountains that surrounded Fortress Valley. With his keen eyesight, he scowered the area, looking for one sharptooth in particular. From way up high, he could see the outline of the entire valley. He finally spotted what he was looking for. Sierra took a few moments and dove down as fast as he could. Other sharptooth looked up and saw the speeding bullet heading their way. There was little panic, however, as many of them knew who and what it was.

Sierra stopped abruptly in midair. He took a quick survey, seeing all the sharpteeth who were looking at him, waiting, watching. He felt a bit nervous, but shook it off. "Chomper, sir, I come back with news." He bowed his head.

Two large red eyes stared back at him, glinting with moonlight and anticipation. "Good. Tell me."

Sierra looked up. "They plan on coming here in a few days' time. Littlefoot said at least five days." Chomper cocked an eyebrow. "It's because one of them needs time to heal."

"Ahh..." Chomper said, understanding. "I see. So Littlefoot doesn't want his precious little friends to get hurt, does he?"

The flying sharptooth hopped back up. "No, sir. Doesn't look like it."

"Sierra?" Chomper cooed softly, as he stared up into the sky.

"Yes?"

"There is one more thing I'd like you to do."

Sierra smirked. "Anything."

Chomper growled out a single word. "Die."

The sharptooth quickly turned around and rushed forward, mouth open! The movement was so fast that Sierra didn't have time to react. Chomper's jaws clamped around him! The flyer squealed with intense pain as the sharp fangs started to impale his fragile body. Chomper applied pressure, and soon his teeth snapped Sierra's body and crushed it flat. Blood gushed from his mouth and stained his teeth. Bones snapped and crunched inside his mouth. The other sharpteeth winced and flinched as Chomper swallowed the body whole. The only evidence of a body left was the streams of blood on his mouth and blood stained grass.

Loc, one of the sharpteeth there, choked out, "Um...why'd you do that, sir?" Loc, like Chomper, was a horned sharptooth. His horns though, curved inward while Chomper's were straight. Loc has red with a light red belly. His eyes were a bright yellow.

Chomper gave him a sideways glance. "I never intended on him going back. If he spilled the beans, our attack wouldn't work, now would it?" He smiled devilishly. "No, better off to kill him to make sure he doesn't tell." He chuckled evilly.

Loc still seemed a bit disturbed. But he dare not say anything to Chomper. Loc is younger than Chomper, smaller and weaker. One wrong word would be the death of him. "Of course, sir." He backed away to his place. Chomper walked away, and the other sharpteeth returned to what they were doing earlier. Loc seemed a bit uncertain about the sharptooth's plan, but decided to think about it later. He went back to the Feeding Area. He was starved.

Chomper made his way back to the den where Dil and Ichy were. They had a bit of time to heal, and he knew that bellydraggers could handle a lot of pain. They were very tolerant. However, the sharpbeak could pose a problem. His fragile bones snap way too easily. Chomper thought of killing Ichy, but if he had, Dil wouldn't be able to go anywhere since she was extremely near-sighted and almost blind.

He could see the moon above the valley. It was in the shape of a sickleclaw's talon. For a brief second, he could see blood dripping from the sharp edges. He turned his attention away and came across the den he was looking for. He stepped inside.

It was dark and damp. Water dripping from openings above. There were a few puddles scattered across the place. As his foot stomped into the puddle, he could hear the splashing of water and feel the cold liquid against his feet. He flinched when his skin felt the icy cold water.

"Dil? Ichy?" He shouted, and heard his own echo bounce among the cave walls. "I need to speak with you!"

Almost immediately, Dil and Ichy emerged from the dark quarters of the den. Ichy still looked a bit beat, and was laying on Dil's back. Dil however looked fighting fit. Chomper smirked. This pleased him very well. "What is it, boss?" Ichy asked, gasping a little.

"I am here to tell you that we are preparing for attack."

Ichy flopped onto his back. "But you told us that yesterday..."

"But this time it's now!" Chomper barked ferociously, startling Ichy and Dil. "Littlefoot is planning on coming here in five days! It only takes a few hours to reach this valley from their valley!" He stalked forward, and Dil backed away nervously. "We must head out in a few hours! They'll be defenseless if we head out much earlier than they."

"But I thought you.."

"I don't remember that." Chomper hissed softly. "Those that attack first, win first."

Dil said, "But that's only as long as you don't underestimate your opponent." Chomper turned his head towards the old bellydragger. "Ichy and I made the mistake of underestimating those little brats. They're tough."

"I know." The sharptooth replied. "That is why I'm taking a precaution and bringing along some sharpteeth from here."

Dil and Ichy looked at each other. "We coming too?"

Chomper gave a nasty smile. "Of course you are." Dil and Ichy seemed a bit freaked out. "You two will pick off the smaller dinosaurs that Littlefoot tries to use against us."

Back outside, a few sharpteet where already gathering up. They knew the time was coming, and they wanted to be ready early to impress the boss. Some of them wanted to be ranked up higher as a general, but most of them were soldiers and a couple were officers. Chomper had never assigned a general other than himself. They think it was because he was selfish and wanted to rule on his own. But others say he just hasn't found the sharptooth with the right skills just yet.

Blueye was there as well. She quickly spotted her little brother, Claw, ahead. She ran forward, and greeted him with a smile. "Hey Claw."

Claw did not return the smile. Instead a look of seriousness was on his face. "Hello, Blueye." He didn't have the same giddy personality as Blueye. Claw looked just like Blueye, except he had red eyes, a dark blue body, and white stripes.

"Looks like Chomper's going to be heading out in a few hours." Blueye took a step back. "I am wondering if it's a wise choice."

"Of course it is!" Claw smirked almost playfully. "Those dumb leaf-eaters won't know what hit them."

But his sister still looked unsure. "But what if something goes wrong? What if they know?"

"They won't know." He assured her, and gently nuzzled her face with his own.

Nearby, two other sickleclaws were standing there together. They were two females. They weren't sisters. They weren't cousins. They were mother and daughter. One of the dinosaurs was bigger than the other, but not by much. The mother, who was white with red stripes, was named Jade because her eyes were that color. Her daughter, red with white stripes, was named Freeze, because her eyes were pale blue, almost like ice. They stood close to each other, and watched as sharpteeth started gathering up. It was a very exciting night for them all, even if some of them doubted their leader, Chomper.

"Things are started to heat up." Jade said softly.

Freeze nodded. "I know, mother. I know."

Blueye and Claw approached them. Blueye smiled a little, but Claw had a stone face. Freeze and Jade looked at them and acknowledged their presence.

"So you ready?" Blueye asked, almost nervously.

"Yes." Jade said firmly. "I am willing to follow Chomper to the death."

Blueye winced. "You think Chomper is leading us well?"

Jade narrowed her eyes. "Those who defy him die."

Before they could continue, Chomper came back. He was closely followed behind by Dil and Ichy. "All right! Enough talking!" Not all the sharpteeth had showed up, but he didn't really care to notice. If the others didn't make it, they'd know where to go: Great Valley.

"Everyone ready to go?" He asked. The sharpteeth nodded their heads once. "Remember, no stopping, no rests. We will continue to march until we get there. You dinosaurs can go a few hours without food or water, can't you?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Good. Once we get to the valley, show no mercy." He hissed. "Kill everyone you come across. Kill them! Kill them! Kill them all!"

The sharpteeth roared approvingly, and, as Chomper walked towards the front to lead, the sharpteeth started their journey to the Great Valley... 


	22. Reflections

(A/N I wished I had remembered to load up the author's note. Sorry about that. I had oral surgery which delayed the typing of this chapter. But to add to the delay, the new computer broke down, forcing me to use this one. And I was still in great pain. I still hurt, but not nearly as much. Even though I finally continued, I won't update too often until the other computer is fixed. Sorry for the inconvenience.)

Part III: The War

Dust swirled in the wind. It spun around, carrying a dry root ball across the sandy landscape. The sand was incredibly dry and formed beautiful shapes. But with the wind picking up slightly, the area would turn deadly. Every dinosaur knows that sand is tiny rocks and getting hit by them at high speed can cause damage, especially in the eyes.

As the wind sped up, sand started being blown from their structures and into the air to join the wind. Most of the small animals, like insects and lizards, took cover deeper underground. Those who did not make it were caught in the mercy of the sandstorm.

Only a fool would walk in this type of weather.

A large foot step heavily fell onto the sand, dispersing more into the windy air. Another foot stepped down, and then another. The ground shook as a large beast heedlessly ventured into the sandstorm. It ignored pain as the tiny rocks struck its leathery skin.

"Sandstorm. Just great." It talked in a husky male voice. As he raised his head high above the wind to avoid being hit in the face, something came into view. On his long neck, a long scar snaked from his right eye towards about the middle of his neck. The wound was given to him by a sharptooth.

The dinosaur was Doc, the Lone Dinosaur.

Doc actually died hundreds of years ago, but his restless spirit is what made it possible for him to say on Earth. He could only go to places he really wanted to go, and he couldn't compel himself to stay. He was afraid others would find out his secret. Eating vegetation was a good way to disguise his death secret, but, while the others never noticed, he never slept, and yet was as alert as ever.

He often wondered if anyone figured out his secret. And if they found out, would they shun him? Then again it wouldn't bother him too much. Doc has always been a loner. His rough childhood taught him that making close bonds would only lead to heartache later on. He had to be callous, had to be as emotionless as possible. He would never be hurt if he was like that.

But one thing still stung in his mind. As he secretly watched Littlefoot play when the longneck was still young, he did see a remarkable resemblance. As a youngster, Doc, too, had friends who were different species, and they often played together. The dangers were so similar as well. Littlefoot was so much like himself, before a tragedy changed him forever.

But nevertheless, Littlefoot had the exact same personality and attitude that Doc himself once had when he was a kid. And his lifestyle is very similar. Doc, too, lost his mother to a sharptooth, and had a father who disappeared searching for a better place to nest. He, too, lived with his grandparents until they died. And all of his friends were killed in a horrible battle, one that time forgot.

"I will never forget it..." He hissed under his breath. He was trapped in his own mind, his own thoughts. A long time ago, when he was a teenager, there was a great battle between sharpteeth and leaf-eaters. It took place far from the Great Valley, and left many dead and others mortally injured. No one knew how the whole thing started, but all Doc knew was, when the dust finally settled, bodies of leaf-eaters and sharpteeth lay on the ground, side by side, locked in immortal combat.

It was then he knew he couldn't give in to emotions. "Emotions only slow you down." He once said to himself. He still came for help if someone needed him. But for the most part he kept to himself. He didn't care no longer what people said about him behind his back. He didn't care to notice how they looked at him as he fed away from all other herds, including his own kind. Doc never talked to anyone. He never socialized anymore after the deadly war.

And because he was the only one who survived, he never spoke of the war. And so the evidence of such a battle laid hidden in the desert, near a half formed valley called Skeleton Canyon. He named it that because 90 percent of the bodies were in there. The whole place was riddled with bones! Doc sometimes went there to pay his respects to his friends. But he dare not stay too long. His feelings would return, and he couldn't let that happen.

He feared Littlefoot would suffer a similar fate. He and Littlefoot were so much alike. That is probably why he showed a little bit of compassion towards the young lad. And something about his eyes reminded him of his own. As he stared into Littlefoot's eyes before he left, he could see sadness, determination, and regret in those eyes. They were how his own looked when he found out he was the sole survivor of a forgotten battle.

Doc's eyes widened as a new thought crossed his mind. He learned of a belief known as rebirth. It's said that when someone dies, they come back to life, and sometimes with the same personality. As Doc stared into the rising sun, he pondered this. Could Littlefoot be his reincarnate?

"Help! Help! Help!"

Doc was driven out of his trance by a cry for help. Instinctively he rushed towards the source of the voice. He saw a small dinosaur rolling across the sandy dunes. Quickly he rushed forth and used his long tail to catch the dinosaur as it was lifted into the air. As he looked at it, he realized it was a swimmer, and not very old either. It looked about Ducky's age. Doc lowered his head.

"Who are you?"

"M-M-My name is S-S-Stepper..." It spoke in a female voice.

Doc cocked an eyebrow. "Stepper?"

"Y-Y-Yes." She answered, nodding. She could tell from the look in his face that he thought it was a weird name. But Stepper had heard weirder names before. She may have been a swimmer, like Ducky, but unlike Ducky, she would grow to be larger, and she had a long crest that extended above her long spine. She was a dull green with black markings, but her crest and forehead were decorated in bright colors. Orange, yellow, and red to be more precise.

"Why are you running?" Doc asked.

"T-T-T-T-There's s-s-s-something going on i-i-in the G-G-G-Great Valley!" She stammered, pointing frantically in the direction she came from. "I-I-I left to g-g-g-go find h-h-help!"

"Is that why you are stuttering?" He asked out of the blue, completely ignoring what she said about the Great Valley.

Stepper glared at him. "I-I-I-It's a problem t-that I c-c-can't control, o-o-o-okay!" Apparently Stepper had a problem which caused her to stutter and no matter how hard she's tried, she couldn't stop it.

"Well gee, sorry, little lady." He said callously. "Why are you running from the Great Valley?"

"S-S-S-See m-m-mister, sharpteeth! S-S-So many sh-sh-sharpteeth! G-G-Gathering u-u-u-u-up! D-D-D-D-Didn't stand a ch-ch-ch-chance! V-V-Valley u-u-under attack!" She screamed.

Doc's eyes widened in horror. It couldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening! "No...not again..."

"I-I-I-It's a war b-b-between sh-sharpteeth a-and l-l-leafeaters!" The swimmer shouted.

That made Doc realize the horrible truth. Because he had failed to tell others of his story of the forgotten war, nobody learned from the past. And because they didn't learn, they would repeat what happened.

History was repeating itself. 


	23. The Consequences

(A/N Finally got around to doing the next chapter. Hopefully I'll update more often like I usually did.)

Part III: The War

"I knew that sharptooth couldn't be trusted!" Pterano snarled as he banked to the left to avoid a diving sharptooth. The sharptooth clashed against the walls. It was dazed for a few secods, but was instantly back on its feet and took off again. Pterano gulped. "Oh wonderful... Flying into walls doesn't work..."

"Neither does clashing two together!" Teri shouted as she flew by. She was quickly hounded by two sharptooth flyers.

Pterano was so shocked by what he just saw that he forgot to look where he was going. When he finally realized his eyes weren't on the road, it was too late. He smacked right into a wall!

"Ooooo..." He moaned as he slid down the side of a mountain wall. He shook his head to regain his stability, just as a shadow loomed over him. He opened his eyes and saw rows of huge sharp teeth. Screaming, he backed away, only to be pressing up against a wall.

He tried to get up, but screamed when he opened his wing span. Searing pain went through his body and he fell back down. He cursed to himself. He must've broken something when he crashed into the wall. He couldn't fly!

The huge teeth belonged to a bellydragger. More specifically, they belonged to Dil. Perched on her head was Ichy, who was licking his beak. He hopped onto Dil's nose as the crocodile snarled and blew air from her nose.

Ichy pointed at the cornered flyer. "I wanted to have a meal with that Petrie guy..." At this, Pterano glared hatefully at the sharpbeak. Ichy responded with an arrogant grin. "But you'll do... Sic 'im Dil!"

Dil answered, "With pleasure, Ichy." She opened up her huge mouth, drool dripping from her remaining sharp teeth. As she lunged forward, all Pterano could do was stare...and scream.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The scream echoed against the mountain walls.

Petrie, who was dodging aerial attacks, heard his uncle's screams. "Uncle Pterano!" He banked to the right and flew to in the direction of the scream.

Hyp grabbed the tail of a sickleclaw and tossed it around in a circle. He let go, and the creature flew headfirst into a wall. But somehow, it managed to get back on its feet and still attack. "How is that possible?" He asked in horror.

Mutt dodged an attack from another sickleclaw. "I don't know, Hyp!"

Nod said, "It's like they're not from this world..." He used his tail to knock away Loc, who was trying to attack him from behind.

Loc landed on his back and moaned. "Stupid leaf-eater..." He grumbled, and struggled back onto his feet. Without even shrugging himself off, he charged after Nod again.

Nod braced himself. Loc glared, and opened his mouth. The plant eater braced for an attack, but it didn't come. Confused, Nod lowered his tail and eyed the sharptooth with curiousity.

Loc smiled. "Fool..."

(A/N I dunno what they call Nod's kind. ; )  
He lunged forward and sank his teeth into Nod's head. The pebbleback screamed in agony as he felt his head being crushed. He could feel his jaw and cranium crack under the pressure of the sharptooth's jaws around him. He could feel the bone surrounding his brain cavity start to cave in, and then all of a sudden, he went limp. His head had been crushed. Blood oozed everywhere.

"Nod! No!" Mutt yelled. He rushed towards Loc and formed a fist. He pulled it back and connected it to the sharptooth's jaw. Loc howled in pain as he was thrown back about a foot into the ground and onto his back. He looked at the angry two-legged leaf-eater, eyes red with hatred.

Loc wiped his jaw. He sniffed it. A trinkle of blood was flowing from his mouth. It was only a little cut. A minor set back is all it was. He laughed.

"Why are you laughing!" Mutt demanded, tears of sadness and anger appearing in his eyes. "You murdered my friend!"

"Yeah?" Loc said, as if it was no big deal. "What'cha gonna do about it, punk?"

Completely ignoring the fact that the sharptooth could speak to him in his own language, Mutt answered the question, "Yes!"

"Well, bring it on..." He motioned for Mutt to come and get him. "I'd love to see you try and kill me."

With fire in his eyes, Mutt ran forward, bracing himself for fighting. Loc braced himself as well, for impact. As the large leaf-eater made contact with him, the force was enough to cause them to roll away from Hyp, who was still fighting the sickleclaws. Mutt and Loc rolled away and landed about a mile away from where they originally wear.

Mutt opened his eyes. He was horrified to see that he was on the bottom. He looked up and saw the mouth of Loc opened. He whimpered as he saw the sharp teeth, coming slowly in his direction.

"It was not a smart idea to mess with me, punk." He said as he closed his jaws around Mutt's throat. Without even letting him utter a scream, he ripped out Mutt's windpipe with one swift movement. All motion ceased in the young plant-eater's body. Blood spread all around the two, creating a large pool of red liquid.

Hyp suddenly realized he was alone. But he was too busy to even say anything about it. The sickleclaws kept on coming. They hissed and growled. Hyp felt a shudder as he thought he would understand what they were saying...

"Tear him open!"

"Rip out his guts!"

"Strike him in the throat!"

Hyp shook a little, and strike a sickleclaw that lunged at him. Suddenly he was knocked down by something from behind. He turned his head and saw a pale yellow black-striped sickleclaw. It was Blueye.

The raptor stared at him hungrily, her blue eyes with a speck of red in the center. She hissed something, and smiled twistedly. Hyp suddenly found himself covered with a pile of the raptors, slashing and cutting him. He screamed for help, but his words were silenced when one raptor, Jade, diced her claw into his neck.

Hyp's eyes widened as he felt the sickleclaw puncture his windpipe and vital blood vessels. Blood quickly flooded from his neck, drenching the grass around him. His vision was becoming blurry. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was Blueye's smiling face. Then he, too, stopped moving.

Meanwhile, Littlefoot and Ali were fighting off a pack of larger sharpteeth. The attack had come so suddenly. Littlefoot didn't even have time to leave the valley with his troops. The sharpteeth just appeared out of nowhere.

"There's so many!" Ali shouted, knocking down a yellow sharptooth.

"I know! I don't know where they're all coming from!" He knocked down another yellow sharptooth. "I mean, I knew there were a lot from Fortress Valley, but I didn't think they'd come this fast!"

Ali struck another sharptooth. "Yeah, and it seems like nothing can stop their advance!"

Teri flew overhead, and quickly shouted, "We've lost Hyp, Nod, and Mutt!"

Littlefoot. "No..." He shook his head. He turned to Ali. "We have to get out of there!"

Ali looked shocked. "But...what about..."

"We'll find survivors, and find a safe place to hide!" He looked around, seeing sharptooth almost flood certain parts of the valley. "There's too many meat eaters there, Ali. We have to go!"

"All right..." She reluctantly agreed.

Petrie searched for the source of the voice. He suddenly spotted two familiar figures. He glared angrily. It was Ichy and Dil. He would recognize them anywhere! Forgetting all fear, he swooped down and hovered in front of the two meat eaters. They seemed shocked at first, but relaxed as they realized it was only Petrie.

"What do you want, little one?" Ichy growled.

"What you do to Uncle Pterano?" He demanded.

Ichy chuckled. "Let's just say we had a very...interesting meeting."

"And...quite tasty." Dil licked her chops.

As horror and realization kicked on, Petrie felt rage cloud his mind. "You...You...MONSTERS!" He forgot all rational thought and he dove in to attack.

Ichy, unfazed, took into flight. "You wanna mess with me, kid?"

"You eat my uncle! Now you pay!"

Ichy smiled. "Bring it on..."

As the battle in the Great Valley went on, a large longneck was bolting towards the valley as fast as he could go. "Don't worry, Littlefoot. I'm coming!" Doc thought as he could finally see the valley in the distance. "I just hope I'm not too late..." 


	24. Flight and Love

(A/N If there are any misspellings, I'm sorry. It's usually cold when I'm typing and the cold makes it harder to type.)

Part III: The War

Petrie stood his ground as Ichy swooped, his mouth open. Petrie shuddered as he looked at all those small sharply hooked teeth that filled Ichy's mouth. Ichy's beak was sharp as well, so even if he couldn't bite Petrie, he could still slash him with the hooked part of his beak.

"You asked for it, kid." Ichy laughed as he lunged faster, aiming the blow at Petrie's neck. The flyer immediately evaded it by flying upwards. Ichy slammed into the ground where the flyer once was.

Petrie knew he couldn't face Ichy with his own beak. Petrie didn't have a sharp beak, and it wouldn't injure the sharpbeak much at all. He didn't have claws either. His only chance to defeat Ichy was to outmaneuver him and outwit him.

Ichy quickly got up, and brushed off the dirth that had collected inbetween his long wing feathers. He looked up and could see Petrie flying away. The flyer was heading towards the mountain walls that surrounded the valley.

"You trying to escape, are you?" Ichy was about to take off when he could feel himself being gently pulled down by a large mouth. He turned around. "What is it Dil?" He was amazed Dil could catch him even though she was completely blind now.

Dil's eyes were wide and almost sad looking. The pale blue pupils, once bold black, stared into blank space. "Don't fly away, Ichy. You know I can't see anymore."

Ichy rolled his eyes. "Don't you have a good sense of smell and hearing?"

"I can't hear so good, or smell so good..." She murmured.

"Geeze..." Ichy slapped himself in the face. "No wonder you rely on me so much!"

Dil snarled, but she didn't reply. She refused to let Ichy go, though. She didn't want to be left alone, especiall in war when she had a great disadvantage. Ichy struggled to get his tail feathers out of her mouth, but her jaws were clamped too tightly. And if he removed his tail feathers, he wouldn't be able to fly at all.

"Come on, Dil...Let go!"

"No!"

Petrie stopped abrubtly as he realized he wasn't being followed. He looked down where Ichy and Dil were. He noticed the bellydragger was hanging onto the sharpbeak, preventing him from leaving. Petrie did soon realize that Dil could not see, so if Ichy left, she would be vulnerable.

"Me should attack, but maybe me should wait see what happen next." Petrie debated with himself. Moving in for a sudden attack could save his life. But it could also end it as well. He whimpered. The decision was difficult to make. Part of him didn't want to do it. The other half told him to do it. But he finally made up his mind.

He was going to flee.

Petrie didn't waste anytime in flying in the direction he was originally going. He wasn't safe staying there very long anyway. Even if Ichy didn't chase him, he had to worry about the other sharptooth flyers. He couldn't see any in the mean time, but that didn't mean that they weren't there.

The flyer glided cautiously through the cracks in the wall. He knew he couldn't look around for very long in this place. If he looked away for too long, he'd slam into a wall. He shuddered. That must've been what did his uncle in...

"Poor Pterano..." He sniffled. Tears streamed down his face.

Suddenly a new anger started to grow inside him. It started out as a minor dislike. But it rapidly grew into almost hatred. Hatred towards several persons whom he believed responsible for his uncle's death. Dil, Ichy, Chomper, and...Littlefoot. Petrie's eyes narrowed.

"If Littlefoot only listen to Pterano...this never would have happened... If only he listen!" He screamed.

He gasped and shut his beak tightly. Taking a risk, he scanned his area nervously, and quickly turned attention back to flying. He didn't spy any evil flyers nearby, but he refused to let his guard down.

But he still couldn't shake the anger eating away at his heart. He knew he couldn't turn against Littlefoot, for doing so could result in his own demise. But he also knew he couldn't fully trust Littlefoot again. Littlefoot didn't take Pterano's advice, and it led to this invasion.

"What to do...what to do...?" He moped.

As he was pondering this, down below somewhere, Littlefoot and Ali were standing in a small cave in the wall. They didn't know where the others were, and they knew that this was the safest place for them to be.

"Littlefoot...what's going to happen?" Ali looked in horror at what had become of the Great Valley. Blood was everywhere. Bodies of both sharpteeth and leaf-eater lay on the ground. Many of them were locked in combat. She shed a tear for them, and lowered her head. "Why? Why did it have to come down to this?"

Littlefoot looked at her sadly. He, too, was appalled by what had happened. "There was nothing we could do about it."

Ali glared at him. "We should've acted faster! We...we shouldn't have trusted Sierra. You shouldn't trusted him..." She took a step back, not taking her eyes off his.

The male longneck lowered his head. "I know...I know..." He let out a sigh. "I-I don't know why I trusted him, Ali... I guess that..." Ali tilted an eyebrow. "I guess with my anger towards Chomper's betrayal..I..." He struggled to get the words out. "I was willing...to believe anything...that could allow me...to...make Chomper pay...for the pain he's caused here..."

His body started shaking. "But you are right... I shouldn't have trusted Sierra. It's my fault this happened. All my fault..." He could feel his salty tears stain his face.

Ali was stunned. She'd never seen Littlefoot like this before. She cautiously approached his trembling form. "Littlefoot...I..." But she couldn't get any words to come out.

Littlefoot looked at her. "I've been mistakes before, Ali. This isn't the first time...I...I got everyone in danger. But this...this is the...worst thing I've...done..."

"You didn't cause this." Ali tried to comfort him.

"Don't lie." He shook his head. "If I didn't trust Sierra..."

Ali intervened. "But we don't even know if Sierra actually told Chomper anything." But she knew she was wrong. And Littlefoot was quick to point it out.

"Then how come the sharptooth attack came earlier than expected? And in much larger numbers?"

"I..." She knew she was so very wrong. "I know I'm wrong...I'll admit that." She looked at him directly in the eyes. "But another thing I know is if you make a mistake, you should try and fix it."

"Fix it!" Littlefoot snapped, almost angrily. He gestured his head towards the bloody battlefield outside. "How am I going to fix that!"

Ali walked towards him and gently nuzzled him with her snout. "You will find a way. You just have to believe in yourself." She backed away. "Littlefoot, my mother taught me, no matter how bad things get, there is always hope."

Littlefoot gave a small smile. "Thanks, Ali. That means a lot."

Ali smiled back. "No problem."

Littlefoot looked back out there for a few seconds, then back at Ali. "You think we'll live through this? Together?"

(A/N The reason why I have Ali act the way she does here is due to what's going on around her.)

The female longneck was a little confused by this statement. "What do you mean? I'm sure we'll make it." Then another thought crossed her mind. Before Littlefoot could say anything else, she interrupted him before he began to talk.

Ali walked closer to him. "I know this is a little sudden...but...I...I love you."

The longneck felt the shock spread to all corners of his mind. "You...love me?" He started to feel his heart racing.

"And...there's something...I always wanted to do..." She gave him 'the look' and grinned slightly.

Littlefoot gulped. "Oh boy..."

"I hope it is."

Littlefoot's eyes went wide. He couldn't say anything. All he could do was watch as Ali approached him slowly with that eerie smile on her face.

Meanwhile, Petrie had a little run-in with a dark flyer. He glared at the fanged flying animal. It was male. He was black with streaks of red on his wing membrane and a red collar. He looked like Petrie's kind but he didn't have an impressive crest like Pterano and he had sharp teeth.

"Where do you think you're going, punk?" He mocked. His name was Gorjak.

"Me going to find Littlefoot!"

"And how...are you gonna do that..?" He sneered.

Petrie snapped. "By getting past you!"

He suddenly dove forward. Gorjak reacted as well. Petrie was trying to make a clean break underneath the dark flyer. Gorjak realized this and dove down to intercept Petrie. He missed.

"Bye bye!" Petrie cried out as he flew around to locate Littlefoot and maybe Ali or Rex.

But the dark flyer wasn't going down without a fight. "Oh no...no you don't..." He hissed. He chased after Petrie at his top speed. He was incredibly fast, faster than any normal flyer.

Petrie wasn't surveying his area. His entire mind was focused on finding Littlefoot. He didn't see the dark flyer behind him. He didn't see Gorjak open his jaws. And he certainly didn't see him swooping down for the kill at almost 200 miles per hour... 


	25. The Lone Dinosaur Returns

(A/N Sorry this chapter is so short. I didn't have much ideas for it. Oh well, a short chapter is better than no chapter, right?)

Part III: The War

"Look out!" A sudden voice boomed. Petrie turned around and shrieked when he saw a flash of claws and teeth in front of him. Then just as suddenly, a flash of something else zipped by him. A scream from an enemy could be heard. As Petrie tried to make sense of everything that just happened, a voice calmy asked him, "Are you all right?"

"Who there?" Petrie asked, bobbing his head up and down, searching for the voice.

"I'm over here, Petrie."

Petrie shuddered. "How you know me name?"

"Surely you remember me." The voice laughed from behind him.

Petrie swerved around and gasped at what he saw. "Doc! That you?" He flew closer. The old longneck hadn't seem to age a day. Petrie could still see the scar that snaked along the side of the dinosaur's neck.

"Yes." Doc smiled, but it turned serious. "Petrie, I need to find Littlefoot."

At the mention of Littlefoot's name, Petrie's heart boiled in anger. "What you want him for?" The anger in Petrie's voice puzzled Doc. "He cause this mess!"

Doc thought about that. "I don't think he meant to, Petrie..."

"But he still cause it!" Petrie yelled, startling the Lone Dinosaur. "He trust Sierra, then sharpteeth come early! We no prepare for battle! If Littlefoot listen to Pterano, this no happen!" Petrie gasped between breaths. "It all Littlefoot's fault!"

Doc took a step back. Petrie's attitude reminded him almost of Stepper, whom was lost before he even got to the valley. Stepper was also angry with Littlefoot and blamed him for what happened. She left to find help, and she found Doc.

Doc looked at the angry flyer. He wondered if he should be more afraid of him than Gorjak, whom he knocked away with his long tail. The plant-eating flyer's eyes seem to have fire inside them.

"Now look Petrie..."

"Why!" He snapped.

The Lone Dinosaur sighed. "In times like this, one sometimes must make hard choices, Petrie." After not getting a response, Doc continued, "I don't think Littlefoot meant any harm, little flyer. He was only trying to help."

Petrie snarled, "But his so-called help is destroying the valley!"

"You may be upset, Petrie. But how do you think Littlefoot feels? How do you think he feels, knowing what he did? The mistake he made?" Doc asked softly.

Petrie's glare softened a little. But he still wasn't convinced. "He should pay..."

"And pay he will, if this repeating of thep past is true." Doc realized too late the words he was saying and before he knew it, they were out. "Ooops..." He murmured.

The puzzled flyer drew closer. "What you mean...?" Petrie asked, his head tilting to one side. "What you talking about?"

Doc closed his eyes. "Petrie, there's something that you should know about this battle..." Then he opened them and looked at the flyer in the eyes. "I'm a ghost, Petrie." Petrie's color drained from his face. "I really am the Lone Dinosaur. Anyway, when I was still alive, there was a war, Petrie, much like this one. The sides were the same. Sharpteeth against Leaf-Eaters. The point of the war was stupid, really. I don't even remember it."

He paused to take a few breaths, and continued, "Anyway, it took place away from here, in some sort of canyon. Forgot the name. Been so long." He sighed. "The battle was just as devastating. I was the only survivor, or so I had long thought. There was a sharptooth who was still alive. He had horns."

Petrie shuddered as he remembered Chomper's long white horns. "Go on."

"He suddenly attacked me, from behind. He was the leader. He threatened to build a bigger army and attack the Great Valley, which at the time supported both leaf-eaters and sharpteeth."

Petrie interrupted. "Sharpteeth used to live in the valley?" Doc nodded. "Why they leave?"

"I can't say for sure. Anyway, this horned sharptooth hated the sharpteeth in the valley. It was because these sharpteeth believed in balance and agreed to only eat the sick, weak, and injured to help the leaf-eater herds stay strong and live longer. The horned sharptooth wanted to put an end to this, and wanted to attack the valley." Doc closed his eyes. "I knew I had to stop him, at any cost. See, it was my fault the sharptooth knew about the valley, so I had to pay...with my life."

Petrie gulped, and he could feel his heart racing. "You...died?" Doc nodded. "Sharptooth kill you?" Another nod.

"He died as well." Doc said with a small smile. "I pushed him off a cliff."

The flyer lowered his head. "What this has to do with Littlefoot...?"

"Littlefoot...is my reincarnation."

A wave of shock almost knocked Petrie right out of the sky.

"I will never forget that horned sharptooth. His horns weren't that impressive at all. Puny actually. But he was definitely different... and those red eyes...those piercing red eyes." He winced as he recalled the horrible memories.

Petrie's eyes snapped open. "Red eyes...?"

Doc nodded. "Yes. He had red eyes. Olive green skin too, and sharp fins on his back..."

"Chomper has them too!" Petrie chirped suddenly. "Chomper try to kill us because of his father!"

Doc lifted an eyebrow. "Oh? What was his father's name?"

Petrie thought about this for a minute. "It was Slasher!"

"Slasher..? But...that's impossible..." Doc muttered, eyes wide in shock.

"Why?" Petrie asked.

"Slasher...was the name of the horned sharptooth who I killed...all those years ago..."

Sometime later, back in the hideout, Littlefoot and Ali nestled beside each other. They both had fallen asleep.

"Littlefoot! Ali!" A voice suddenly woke them up.

"Who...what?" Littlefoot muttered as he and Ali groggily opened their eyes.

"Rex?" Ali whispered.

"What are you doing here?" Littlefoot asked, though he knew it was a stupid question.

"The sharpteeth have disappeared!" Rex said happily. "They're gone!"

"But don't be happy for long..." They all turned to see Doc standing there. Petrie helped him find them.

"Doc...?" Littlefoot and Ali were very confused by all that was happening.

Doc glared at Littlefoot. "This is only the eye of the storm." 


	26. When In Doubt

(A/N Hmmm...am I losing my touch? I'm just wondering because the last few chapters didn't seem as good as the other chapters. I'll try and improve.)

Part III: The War

Night had fallen on the valley. A small breeze encircled the dead leaves that had fallen. The stars twinkled in the light. The moon was completely round and white. The moonlight reflected onto the ground, illuminating whatever it touched. It may have been night, but the moon provided enough light for any nocturnal creature to see. The wind picked up again, stronger this time, and a rock or two rolled from its resting spot, making clattering sounds as they bounced downward. Dark clouds were rolling across the skies, and seemed to devour the stars as it continued moving forward. The moon then seemed to be swallowed up, and everything became dark again. Among this darkness, just outside the valley walls, a group of animals marched away, some battered and beaten, others with deep gashes, and bleeding heavily. All were bipedal, and all had their heads bowed in shame.

It was the sharpteeth who invaded the valley not that long ago.

They were marching to a safe place for healing. They weren't the only sharpteeth whom Chomper had brought. Their friends could deal with the leaf-eaters. For the moment, they needed rest. When they did reach a safe haven, they sat down on the ground. The area they had picked was about 5 miles away from the Great Valley. It was among large walls which seemed to form some sort of "false" valley. Large tooth-like structures hung low, and others seemed to grow from the ground. These were strange because everyone thought that these kind of structures only formed inside caves. Then they looked up and they could see how it was probably possible for these to be formed outside a cave.

Running along on top was a deep river. It curved along the edge and avoided going over. It seemed almost cowardly in its behavior, not forming into a waterfall like most rivers end up doing. A bird suddenly flew by, and landed in the water. A few drops of water splashed downward, and landed in Jade's eye.

The female sickleclaw shook her head furiously, and wiped her eye with her arm quickly. She growled in frustration, and blinked her eye rapidly, restoring her vision. She looked up, and gave a loud hiss of disapproval. She quickly moved away to avoid being hit again, and sat down next to her daughter. She looked tenderly at one of Freeze's wounds she recieved on her arm. Freeze was struck by Spike's tail. His sharp spikes had pierced her arm, and left a deep gash going from her elbow to her wrist. Jade pressed her nose against the wound, sniffed, and started to lick the wound gently.

(A/N The ridgeheads are dilophosaurs.)

The group was made up of about seven sickleclaws and about four ridgeheads. That made a total of eleven dinosaurs. The ridgeheads were youngsters, and not fully grown. For the time, they were about the same size as sickleclaws, but their species grew larger than a velociraptor. All the large sharpteeth stayed in the valley. They hid to heal themselves as well, but they refused to leave. The smaller sharpteeth, especially the sickleclaws, knew from experience that when one can't fight, it is wise to flee the area immediately. The large sharpteeth were asking to be attacked without defense, just like they had attacked the leaf-eaters without warning.

The ridgeheads were only about the age that Littlefoot was when he met Chomper. But these kids tagged along with the adults for a very good reason: they looked venomous. Most leaf-eaters believe that dilophosaurs were venomous because they never saw an adult before. They thought that tiny dinosaurs like ridgeheads needed venom to kill their prey. And young ridgeheads were brightly colored with red, yellow, and black, which further makes the distinction that they are venomous. But dilophosaurs and other sharpteeth know the truth. No ridgehead was actually venomous. But making the plant-eaters believe they were was an advantage.

By showing up, they could spook a herd, and single out an individual, and the large adults attack it. And never once do any other dinosaur see. That's because ridgeheads have yet another secret. Like a few horned sharpteeth, they could camouflauge themselves, and completely disappear in their environment. An adult ridgehead could walk among a plant-eater and not get noticed. Only the youngsters were brightly colored, because they do not possess the camouflauge technique.

One of the ridgeheads, Axe, spoke up. "What is going to happen now?" He was the smallest in the group and the weakest. But he was the fastest, and his speed was essential in hunting. Axe was yellow with a red head and tail and black limbs. His eyes were bright green-yellow.

His sister, Firr, giggled almost playfully. She was the smartest in the group. "Silly, we sit and wait. The large dinosaurs will tell us what to do." She was red with yellow limbs and a black head and tail. Her eyes were dark blue.

"Yeah, so why don't you relax?" That voice belonged to the largest and strongest in the group, Knight. He was black with a yellow head and red limbs and tail. His eyes were a red-violet.

The final ridgehead, a female, stood up. "Well you can't blame him for being a bit cautious." She was named Cote. Cote's body was red. Her head was yellow and her tail was also yellow. Her limbs were black and her eyes were a pale blue.

One of the male velociraptors, Red, turned his head towards the youngsters. "You two be quiet. We all had a rough day." Red was dark red in color with a light blue belly. He lacked stripes, though. He had long feathers growing from his head, which only the strongest of males possessed. The feathers were as sign of strength and won them a lot of females. Red himself fathered many children, one of which was Freeze. But since sickleclaws don't mate for life, Jade was not Red's only mate.

"We all know." answered Shadow, a smaller male. He was pure black in color with bright yellow eyes. He, too, lacked stripes. He had no feathers either. "We could attack at night, because most herbivores can't see that well in the dark. We would have the advantage.

Red swatted him on the head. "Are you mad! Blueye told us that it would be better if we came out here!"

"Then why didn't she come out with us?" Jade asked cautiously.

Her former mate shook his head. "I do not know, Jade. I do not know. I think it's because she went with Chomper. He probably had something planned for her." He looked into Jade's green eyes. "And you know what will happen if any of us defies one of Chomper's orders." Jade shuddered as she thought about it.

Freeze spoke up. "I may be loyal to Chomper, but hasn't anyone else here besides me wondered why he never ranks anyone other than himself as a general?" The group muttered and some nodded. "I mean, I understand if he hasn't found a suitable sharptooth, but still, with all these sharpteeth at his command, you'd think he'd appoint at least one other sharptooth to be a general like himself."

Freeze lowered her head. "What if he is hiding something? Why else would he deny any one else the title of general? Generals are allowed any place at any given time. They are the only ones who can act without Chomper's say so."

Jade gently nuzzled her daughter. "Freeze, you shouldn't accuse Chomper of such things. I'm sure he has a pretty good reason why he's not appointing anyone general."

Freeze glared at Jade. "And what would that be, mother!" Jade couldn't say anything. She was at a loss of words.

"I can tell you." A medium sized raptor walked a bit closer. Other than a few green stripes along his back and limbs, he was solid light tan. Everyone called him Sandstorm. Sandstorm's light red eyes looked at Freeze's worried face. "You have the right to be cautious of General Chomper, little one.

"And what do you know, Officer Sandstorm?" Red asked. Sandstorm was the only officer among the group.

Sandstorm didn't move, didn't blink. He just kept looking at Freeze, the pale blue eyes slightly wide. The tawny sickleclaw then gave a small smile. "There's a lot about General Chomper that you guys don't know. The truth is he's not greedy, and he knows well that a few sharpteeth are worthy of the title. But why doesn't he do so, you ask? Well the answer is simple really." He sucked in a deep breath, and let it out. "General Chomper doesn't want anyone screwing up his plans. He knows that if one individual commands a troup, and they attack without him knowing, they could screw things up for him. If General Chomper gave such power to another individual, it would mean disaster for him and his cause."

"And that's a bad thing...? I mean if we follow a strong leader..." Firr began, but he was interrupted by Sandstorm.

"Listen child, it is a bad thing." He hissed almost angrily. "You see, if General Chomper does not appoint any other generals, then he would control everything. That might not sound like a bad thing at first, but think about it. When one gains too much power, he would become a threat to everyone, including those who work for him. If he gains too much control, he would send out minions while he sits down and watches!"

"But he's not like that now..." Jade said softly, her head turned away from Officer Sandstorm's face.

Sandstorm nodded. "Well he's not...yet... But whose to say that he won't become like that?"

"Only time will tell."

"Of course...only time." Sandstorm said softly. "But I'm warning you, if all these sharpteeth continue listening to General Chomper, bad things will happen! Not just to the leaf-eaters, but to us as well!"

A cruel laughing could be heard as a dark purple figure walked towards them. He was covered in black stripes and had a light red stomach. His piercing yellow eyes almost glared at Sandstorm. He was Sandstorm's older brother. "Why Sandstorm...why should we care about the plant-eaters?" He folded his arms. "You're beginning to sound like those weakling sharpteeth who lived in peace with the leaf-eaters that we've been told about."

"Those sharpteeth weren't weak, Gasher." The light tan raptor snarled. "And without leaf-eaters we would die! If we kill every leaf-eater we come across, what does that leave us to eat? Each other?"

"Man, that is gross!" A female sickleclaw grimaced. She lacked stripes as well and was just solid white. Her eyes were ice blue, just like Freeze's. She was given the name Snowbound. "Don't even go there!"

Cote giggled. "Look, Snowbound is scared!" She was given the shock of her life when Snowbound's large white head smacked against her face, and the large ice blue eyes seemed to bore through her own.

"I'm not scared, you got that!" Cote nodded. "Good." She rose her head up. Snowbound was the strongest female in the pack. In fact, she was the strongest one in the group, period. Female sickleclaws were larger than the male sickleclaws and stronger, too.

"So what do you suggest we do?" Jade asked Sandstorm.

"I can tell you what we can do..." Sandstorm said softly. "We leave the war."

"Leave the war...?" Jade looked shocked.

Sandstorm nodded. "We must..." 


	27. The Deserter

(A/N This story...is getting long isn't it? XD)

Part III: The War

Suddenly, Red knocked Sandstorm onto the ground. He pulled back his lips, showing off his sharp teeth to him. "How dare you... we can't betray Chomper!"

Sandstorm picked himself back up. "I never said we were. I merely suggested we leave the war."

Red growled and turned his head. "That counts as betrayal!" He turned his head back at the Officer. "You used to be so special. But how special are you...if you are willing to turn your back on our own kind?"

The tan velociraptor glared back at Red. He then softened his expression, and closed his eyes. "I'm not... I just don't think this is right. I mean...look at all the suffering...back in the valley...All that... and for what?" He suddenly gripped Red by his shoulders and shook him violenty. "For what!"

The dark red raptor growled in disgust, and knocked away Sandstorm once again. "If you even think about leaving...I'll...I'll...KILL you!"

At this declaration of killing, the other sharpteeth in the group gasped in almost horror. Killing a leaf-eater was one thing, but killing one of their own, that just wasn't something they would see everyday. The young dilophosaurs cowered backwards. Gasher watched, almost emotionless, as Red opened his jaws and snapped close to Sandstorm's neck, an emphasis for the words he had spoken. Gasher could feel the smile on his face broaden. Snowbound merely shook her head.

Sandstorm grabbed the snout of Red and brought him close. He pressed his snout against Red's and said, "What do you hope to achieve from all this? What do you hope to gain from killing off leaf-eaters! All Chomper is doing is destroying life for a 'paradise' of sharpteeth!"

Red produced a sickening grin. "A worthy cause, I would say."

The tan raptor's eyes widened in horror. Red was just as disturbed as Chomper. He gripped Red harder. "How can you justify from destroying innocent lives! What kind of monster are you anyway!"

Red chuckled. "A smarter one than you." With that, he pulled his foot back and launched it forward. The sickle claw connected with Sandstorm's leg. Yelping in pain, Sandstorm let go, and felt the sickle claw of another sharptooth slice through muscle and tendons. When the claw was pulled out, Sandstorm now had a big puncture wound, flooding with blood. Not being able to stand the pain anymore, the Officer fell to his knees. His hands supported his aching body weakly, and he opened his mouth wide, taking in big gulps of air. His mind was being showered with extreme pain pulses. Red walked towards Sandstorm's wounded body, and grabbed him by the neck, and lifted him high off the ground.

"Now listen here, Officer Sandstorm, we were hired by Chomper to follow his every word. We were hired to help make this world better for sharpteeth everywhere! No longer will we be mocked! No longer will the leaf-eaters get the better of us! It'll be our world, Sandstorm. Our world!" He squeezed his neck tighter. "Either you are with us, or you are against us!" He clenched his teeth. "So choose...do you want to live...or die...?"

The Officer slowly opened his eyes, and stared at the dark red raptor with eyes full of hate and courage. "I will no longer follow Chomper on his insane quest of global conquer." His eyes slowly closed shut. "I am no longer part of his stupid war."

Red's widened eyes seemed to have a glint of fire inside them. "Then you die!"

Rex knelt beside the stream of water and cupped some water in his hands. He splashed it against his face, and he could feel the soothing coolness against his face and eyes. He shook himself dry, and droplets splashed everywhere.

"Watch it!" Littlefoot yelled, looking rather annoyed.

"Sorry, Littlefoot. But I want to enjoy this before we have to fight again. We've been fighting for such a long time..."

Littlefoot tilted an eyebrow. "It hasn't really been that long, Rex."

But he knew Rex was correct. It did feel like it was so long since this war had started. The valley was nothing like it used to be. Much of it was just littered with bodies. Littlefoot was so disguted by it that he hasn't had a bite to eat in such a long time. But he knew he had to keep his strength up. The next wave of attack could arrive at any time. He kept a close watch on the valley walls. And with sickleclaws on Chomper's side, there was no way of predicting just which direction they would appear.

Littlefoot looked up to the sky. The conversation he just recently had with Doc sort of disturbed him. It did excite him when he learned he was the reincarnation of Doc. But something was puzzling him. Doc had talked about the previous war that took place so long ago. It was so much like this one, in every way. And the death and bloodshed...he had already suffered a lot of that. However, one terrible thing stood out above all. He had seen this so many times inside his head and in daydreams he witnessed. It was almost like a vision. Something that Doc told him had made his blood freeze into ice.

As Littlefoot thought about the vision, he could see flashes inside his head. He could see sharp rocks, and a thunderstorm. The lightning was flashing everywhere. It was so close that the noise was almost unbearable. He could see rocks rolling down the hills, he could see the face of a cliff. Then he could see two dinosaurs fighting. Then the vision would become foggy and cloudy, and he couldn't see anymore. But what was worrying him was the two dinosaurs on the cliff. One of them was a longneck, and the other a sharptooth. It could have been him and Chomper.

He shuddered. He didn't want to think about fighting Chomper right now. He had seen enough bloodshed. He still needed to convince Chomper that he was wrong, that they didn't ruin his life. According to Doc, Slasher was another spirit stuck on this earth. Chomper said he died, but Slasher most likely didn't die, since he was already dead. But what actually happened no one could say for sure. But one thing was for sure. Chomper was decieved.

"You think we will be able to get close enough?" Rex asked, snapping Littlefoot out of his trance. He looked at his winged friend almost dumbly.

"Close enough to what?"

Rex giggled. "Why to Chomper of course!" He put his hand on Littlefoot. "Remember we have to talk to him?"

Littlefoot took a few moments to realize what Rex was talking about. Feeling rather stupid, he nodded his head. "Yes, I remember." He let out a sigh. "Sorry, I just probably need some rest." He then realized he didn't fully answer the question. "Oh, and yeah I think we will be able to, at least one of us."

Rex smiled slightly. "If Chomper realizes his mistake, he'll stop the war."

Littlefoot lowered his head. "But of course, a sacrifice of some sort will have to be made. I just hope this sacrifice isn't in blood. We have seen too much spilling of blood recently."

The winged omnivore faded away his small smile. He couldn't agree more. This whole thing was a nightmare. So many lives lost, both meat-eater and plant-eater. And not only dinosaurs were suffering. Some of the lower creatures, such as the mammals, were feeling the stress, and tried to flee their homes. But they ended up caught in the crossfire, and now lay scattered in the grass, hard to see save for the shine of blood. It was horrid! "Not even Bull would have done something like this."

Suddenly, Rex spotted something floating in the deep river. He could barely see the outline, but it was bipedal, he could at least tell. The head was underwater, and it looked like it was knocked out. Littlefoot had also spotted the thing floating in the water. He lowered his long neck to get a better look. But he couldn't really make out exactly what it was. It was covered in blood and deep cuts, and it was distorting the figure a little. He reached in with his tail and pulled the creature out. He settled it on the bank.

"What is it?" Littlefoot asked as Rex walked closer.

"It looks like a sickleclaw..." He whispered as he sniffed the body, believing the thing to be dead. "It looked as if it was attacked by its own kind."

"How do you know?"

"Not many leaf-eaters can make wounds like these." He pointed at the deep cuts that were so deep they could see the bone and muscle inside.

Suddenly the sickleclaw's eyes snapped open. Rex gasped as the sickleclaw weakly raised its hand up in the air. The look on its face was that of submission. "P-P-Please...help me..." He suddenly lost consciousness again. 


	28. The Traitor and the Rebel

(A/N Sorry I didn't answer your question earlier, Threehorn. The answer is I don't know really. Okay, not much of an answer, but it's the only thing I've got. ; Ooo...this story is getting close to 30 chaps. And it's still not over yet. oo )

Part III: The War

Littlefoot and Rex stared at the prone raptor. It was bleeding from so many places it was hard to tell where the cuts actually where. It lay there, breathing with difficulty. They could hear ragged sounds, as though part of its windpipe was cut. Other than its breathing and a few tail twitches, the sickleclaw remained motionless. The raptor's last words before it fell down again stunned them. A velociraptor asking for their help? Raptors were one of the fiercest and most confident meat-eater of their time. What could possibly reduce one to this creature, lay bleeding on the grass?

"What should we do...?" Rex asked softly, his eyes filled with concern and disbelief. He placed his hand on the sickleclaw's neck, feeling for a pulse. He found one, but it was weak and thready.

Littlefoot didn't answer for a few minutes. He was watching the sharptooth, breathing in and out slowly, almost painfully. He wanted, at first, to kill it, just as its kind killed Hyp. But something about the raptor's condition, and its words, seemed to change his mind. If he killed the raptor out of vengeance, he'd be just as bad as Chomper. And he did not want to stoop down to his level.

Rex grew impatient, and walked towards the longneck. He waved his hand in front of Littlefoot, trying to get his attention. "Hello? Littlefoot? You there?"

Littlefoot snapped to his senses. "What? What?" He noticed the blue flyer. "Oh, Rex. What were you asking?"

"What should we do with him?" He pointed towards the small tan sharptooth. "We can't just leave him here."

"I know..." Littlefoot sighed. "We'll take him back to the cave. Perhaps he can tell us something about Chomper and his army that might help us." A thought suddenly crossed his mind. "I just hope he won't endanger my offspring."

"I'm sure he wo..." His voice trialed off. Rex's mind reeled back on Littlefoot's last two words: my offspring. His dark eyes widening in shock, he swerved towards Littlefoot and grabbed his head. "Your offspring!"

"Yeah, well, Ali won't lay the egg in a few weeks, but..."

He was cut off by Rex screaming, "ALI! EGG!"

Littlefoot chuckled. He realized he hadn't told Rex about what happened in the cave. "Ali's pregnant, Rex." He gave a small smile.

"P-Pregnant...?" All the thoughts that were racing through Rex's mind would haunt him for the rest of his life. He shouldn't be that surprised. After all, he thought they'd make a cute couple. But he wasn't expecting them to take the 'step' this fast, and during a war too! "Littlefoot...you don't meant to tell me that..in the cave...you...and Ali..." He nervously fumbled his fingers together.

"Yes. Why do you sound like that's a bad thing?" He was beginning to sound a little angry.

"Littlefoot, did you forget that we're in a war here? What if something bad happens to Ali?" Rex answered, voice filled with worry and concern. "I don't mean to sound like a downer. I'm just worried about what would happen to the child, and Ali, if they get caught in the war."

Littlefoot nodded, understanding where Rex was coming from. Littlefoot, too, was concerned about what would happen. That's why he came up with a plan, which was similar to the decision Bron had to make so many years ago. "I told Ali that it might be safer for her and the child if she left the Great Valley. If she does, then at least she and the child have a chance of survival. I know if she stays here, the sharpteeth might get her."

"Then why did you chance it? Why did you..." Rex stopped himself. "Oh nevermind. We have to get this sharptooth back for interrogation." He bent down and gently picked up the bleeding sharptooth. Years of training and meditation kept him from going crazy at the sight of blood. He was grateful for it too. It still haunts him how he killed Zill after he saw his blood.

As they walked back towards the cave, a set of eyes glared at them, almost hungrily...

Sandstorm muttered in his sleep. He tossed back and forth against the earth, against hard cold rock. A few tears streamed out of his eyes. "No...no..." Suddenly he bolted up, letting out a shriek that echoed. "Echo...?" As he regained his bearings, he looked around and realized he was in a cave of some sort. He struggled to get onto his legs, but found himself falling over once more. His legs were badly damaged. "Nuts..." He hissed under his breath.

"So your finally awake?" A winged dino approached him, blood on its claws and mouth.

Sandstorm looked scared. "Who-Who are you?" He stared in horror at the blood on its claws.

"What? A sharptooth afraid of the sight of blood?" Rex joked halfheartedly. "I'm Rex. Relax there, sickleclaw, I was just bringing you some food." He tossed a tiny mammal he had caught earlier. "I thought you might be hungry."

The tan raptor picked up the meal and sniffed it. "Thanks..." He whispered and, in a single gulp, devoured the mammal whole. He coughed, as he was not used to eating something with fur. He punched himself in the chest a few times, trying to push the mammal down his esophogas and into his stomach.

Suddenly Rex asked out of nowhere, "What happened to you?"

This brought Sandstorm out of his little trance, and stared at the winged dino with surprise. "You want to do...what happened to me?" Rex nodded. "Don't you know?" Rex shook his head.

"I may be a sharptooth, but I was raised by plant-eaters for the beginnings of my life." He closed his eyes. "So I'm what you call an omnivore. Plant eater and meat eater rolled into one." He turned to Sandstorm. "You understand?"

"Not really." Sandstorm's mind was boggled just trying to make sense of what Rex was telling him. "But it is not important right now." He winced as he saw his blood on the floor. "Well you want to know what happened to me?" Not bothering to let Rex answer his question, he continued, "I was kicked out."

Rex's eyes bulged out when he heard those words. "You were kicked out? Why?"

"They thought I was betraying Chomper." He pulled back his lips, sharp teeth glinting slightly. "I only wanted to leave the war. Chomper is going too far!"

The flying dinosaur gave a single nod of the head. "Yes, we all believe that." He couldn't agree more.

"This war has to stop..." Sandstorm muttered softly. "Too much bloodshed, even for a sharptooth like myself..."

"So I see he's awake." Littlefoot said as he entered he cave. He was a bit tense since the sharptooth was awake now, but he relaxed when he remembered that the sharptooth's leg was badly damaged and it was doubtful he could stand up.

The sickleclaw seemed a bit confused when the longneck entered, not showing too much fear in his presence. Most longnecks would either attack him or run away. Littlefoot was doing neither. "And who are you?" That was the only thing he could say.

"I'm Littlefoot, but we have a few questions to ask you..uhh...what's your name?" Littlefoot grinned sheepishly, slightly embarrassed for some reason he could not figure out.

"I'm Officer Sandstorm, but just call me Sandstorm. Officer is just a title, a ranking Chomper gave me." Littlefoot seemed confused, but said nothing. "Littlefoot eh? So you must be the guy Chomper has been talking about." He said, chuckling with a mixture of humor and pity. "He keeps mentioning you, ya know?"

"H-He has...?" The young longneck wasn't sure if he wanted to know, but curiousity compelled him to ask. "What...does he say?"

"Oh, how he was going to rip out your throat, rip out your intestines, spread them all over the earth, coat himself in your blood..." He stopped when he realized Littlefoot's face was turning green, and he was wobbling a little, feeling sick to his stomach. "Sorry." He smiled slightly.

"That...was so wrong..." Rex said, horrified.

"I'm gonna be sick..." Poor Littlefoot was plagued with horrible images of what Sandstorm had just told him.

"You sure this is the place, Ichy?" Outside the cave, a few feet away, Dil and Ichy were walking towards the cave. They were following Petrie's trail. Ichy wanted to actually fight the pterosaur. It wasn't much of a fight last time. "And if it is, isn't it dangerous to be coming here without asking General Chomper first?"

She was greeted with a punch to the nose. "What are you complaining about? And yes this is the place." His feathers ruffled in anticipation. "And who said anything about going in? We're just here to keep an eye on them until the boss arrives." He rubbed his wings together, licking his beak. "I can almost taste him..." He said to no one in particular.

"Who you talkin to?" Dil asked.

"No one." Ichy said, his yellow eyes still boaring into the cave entrance. "I wonder how long they'll stay in there."

"I don't know." A voice suddenly sounded out. "But you won't be around long enough to see."

Ichy and Dil turned around to face the intruder. "Who is it? Who's there?" Dil questioned with worry, looking left to right. She was trying to figure out the source of the voice. She was about to rush forward when Ichy pushed one of his wings into her snouth.

"Hold on Dil, let me handle this guy." He jumped up and flew towards the intruder. It was the same black flyer that attacked Petrie. "Just who do you think you are!" Ichy was never really good with first impressions, and it showed.

"My name is Gorjak, and I have a bone to pick with a certain flyer in there." The dark flyer took flight and landed in-between Dil and Ichy. Ichy turned around.

"Now see here, that flyer is mine!" He pointed towards himself. "You have no right to come here and try to steal my meal!"

Gorjak's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Don't test me..." He growled under his breath, speading his wings out and flexing the sharp claws that stuck out about midway. Ichy gulped a little, but responded by making three deep cuts into the earth with his talons.

Ichy suddenly remembered something. "Gorjak...so you're the one Loc mentioned before we left..! What are you doing here, anyway? I thought Chomper didn't want you to come along."

Dil blinked in confusion. "He didn't? Why not?"

"Because Gorjak follows his own rules..." Ichy said with disgust. "He refuses to follow orders. So I shouldn't actually be all that surprised he's here." He hopped closer to Gorjak and pressed his head against his. "Why don't you scram, pal, before we report you to one of the Officers?"

Suddenly he was grabbed by the throat and lifted into the air. Ichy gasped for air and struggled to get free, but the grip was too strong for him. "Do you really wanna mess with me, birdie?"

"Ichy!" Dil rushed forward blindly and snapped forward. Seeing her attack, Gorjak let Ichy go and flew up, barely missing the jaws by a centimeter.

Gorjak seemed to grow weary from being in their presence. While he wasn't physically worn out, he was mentally. Gorjak believed he had more important things to do than hang around two of Chompers loyal followers. "Ah, I am tired of seeing you anyway." He was about to fly away, when he decided on something better. He looked at Ichy with some sort of interest, his eyes almost hungrily fixated on him.

"What are you staring at!" The angry white and gray bird, apparently recovered from the attack, hopped onto Dil's snout.

"Why don't we have a little battle...?" He laughed. "And let us make the stakes high. Whoever loses...gets eaten..."

(A/N Long chapter. oo ) 


	29. Innocense Behind The Mask

(A/N I apologize for the delay. I haven't figured out what to do in this chapter, and I still don't really have much of an idea for it. That's why the chapter's pretty short. )

Part III: The War

"Spike? Spike where are you!" Ducky cried out as she patrolled the aftermath of the invasion. She grimaced as she stepped on a tiny dead body. She shuddered, and continued walking along. The Great Valley has been turned into a terrible nightmare of bloodshed and gore! She wrapped her arms tightly around herself and called out again, "Spike!"

But all she could hear was the terrible wind howling as it pushed against her face. With it came the horrible stench of rotting bodies that made her want to throw up. She coughed and gagged as the smell continued to fill her sensitive nostrils, and she finally started breathing through her mouth to avoid the horrid smell.

"Come on, Spike! Come on out!" She cupped her hands to her mouth this time to try and further strengthen the sound of her voice. But still, she could hear no reply. Ducky felt a sudden fear take root inside. She knew she wasn't strong enough to face big sharpteeth, and without Spike as her bodyguard, she was a sitting duck!

She inhaled deeply. "SPIKE FOR THE LAST TIME ANSWER ME!" She shouted as loud as she could, another vain attempt to at least get someone to answer her. But this time someone did hear. Someone did answer. But alas, it was not whom she wanted.

"Hello, Ducky. I can hear you just fine."

The dark voice sent a chill up her spine. "No...it can't be...not now...not here..." It should couldn't be him! She hasn't seen him at all in the valley. No one has. There's just no way it could be him. She closed her eyes tightly and slowly turned around, shaking like a leaf that's about to fall off a worn branch. "Please...no...no not him...please don't let it be him..." Ducky muttered as she slowly opened up her eyes. When they were fully opened, they stared at a set of sharp teeth.

She screamed. "You!"

"Yes, Ducky, me... Chomper."

The evil sharptooth grinned maliciously, showing to Ducky the stains of blood on his mouth. She grimaced and backed away. "But-But I thought you weren't here..."

A cruel laugh escaped Chomper's mouth. "Not here! Why my dear little Ducky..." He advanced forward. "I was always here..." He licked his teeth, smiling at the taste of blood. "I just made myself invisible to you and your friends..." He noticed Ducky's wide eyes as she stared at his teeth. "Oh, you wondering whose blood this is...? Well I'll tell you."

He leaned in forward and whispered into her ear. As the words snaked into her ears, cold hard terror nearly blanked her mind. The words echoed in her mind, paralyzing it with cold fear. She couldn't shiver. She couldn't move. She couldn't think. She couldn't speak. All she could do is stand there, still as stone, face paling in horror as realization plagued her fragile mind.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Ducky finally spoke in a shaky voice. "N-N-No...N-No...not him...No...no...no..." Tears welled up in her eyes. She choked back sobs. "I-It can't be true..."

"Oh, but it is, my dear." Chomper snorted. "And you're next..."

He lunged forward, mouth opened wide for the kill. Ducky didn't see him coming. She couldn't hear anything but those horrible words in her head, the words that Chomper had just spoken not too long ago. Chomper saw his advantage and took it. He was going to aim for her throat and rip it out. It would be a quick kill.

"No!" He screamed as he stopped dead in his tracks. This cry was enough to snap Ducky to her senses. Chomper clutched his head and closed his eyes tightly. "No, I'm not doing this anymore!" He howled, "Do you hear me! I'm not doing this any longer!"

Ducky watched in amazement. Chomper had suddenly stopped himself, and seemed to be arguing...with himself? She wanted to approach as curiousity settled in. But the other part of her wanted to keep away. The sharptooth could still attack her at anytime. "C-Chomper...?" She whispered softly as she watched the sharptooth on his knees, tears of fear coming out of his red eyes. "What are you doing?"

Chomper's eyes snapped open. He bared his teeth, and shouted through clenched teeth. "Go...now..."

"But...I..."

"GO! Before I change my mind..." Chomper growled almost evilly. Ducky stood there baffled. "NOW!" He roared, stomping his foot onto the ground, shaking it.

Ducky got the message and bolted away. Chomper was left alone, crouched on the floor, shaking. He did not look back. He did not look in the direction where Ducky had ran to. Instead he climbed to his feet and walked in the opposite direction.

Ducky ran through the woods, not daring to look back. She ignored the thorns she stepped in and the vines that tangled her. She didn't know where she was going. But she didn't care. She wanted to get away from there, as far away as she possibly could. Finally she stopped beside a large bare tree. She leaned against it, one hand on it, and breathed in deeply, trying to regain her stamina.

Chomper's behavior baffled her. One second he wants to rip out her throat. The next, he's letting her go, telling her to run away. Why had he done that? Ducky's mind was filled with mixed emotions. She hated Chomper for what he's doing. But she also pities him. It's almost as if this invasion wasn't his idea, or anything else he's done for that matter.

"Why...? Why did he do that...?" Grief as well as confused settled in her mind. "I'm so confused... yep yep yep..." She laid down next to the barren tree and curled up. Perhaps sleep would make her feel better. Completely forgetting of the danger she had just been in, she drifted off into sleep, leaving herself completely vulnerable to attack.

Doc, who had left the cave to look around the valley, felt something mentally strike him in his mind. He quickly looked in one direction, his eyes narrowed almost into slits. "So...I was right. Chomper is..." His voice trailed off. He shook his head, and turned around to walk back towards the cave. "I must tell Littlefoot and his pals about this."

(Yeah, very short. Chomper's finally back. I just kept forgetting to put him in the other chapters. Silly me.) 


	30. Beast Revealing

(A/N Once again, I apologize for the delay. Once again it was due to writer's block. I hope it goes away soon. Btw, I'm thinking of writing a list of songs for this fanfic. Does anyone have any suggestions on what songs that could fit the story?)

Part III: The War

The once proud and callous general lay on his knees, broken and sullen. Tears of confusion flowed from his eyes. He could not understand why he let her go. He could not understand why he couldn't harm her, why he suddenly stopped. His claws dug into the ground as frustration started to set in. He shouldn't be like this! He was a general! Generals are suppose to remain emotionless...and yet he wasn't, not anymore. Chomper could hear Ducky's fading footfalls. He was tempted to go after her, but an invisible force was preventing him. He reached out a claw in her direction, although she did not see it. She had already disappeared among the foliage.

"Why...why am I like this...?" Chomper's mind was plagued with so many thoughts and questions. And none of the questions he could seek an answer to. He had believed he became like his father, cold, blood-thirsty, savage. But in the face of trying to kill Ducky, he hesitated. Why? Why did he hesitate? He could kill Cera no problem. "But that was because I didn't like her..." It was true. Chomper had always hated Cera, hated her for the way she treated him.

It all made a little bit of sense now for the horned sharptooth. When he had tried to kill Petrie, he couldn't bring himself to. So instead he captured him and took him away. He had recently tried to kill Spike, but the look on Spike's face made him feel weak and he turned his attention to his most recent victim: Bron, Littlefoot's father.

Chomper had killed Bron in order to make Littlefoot suffer what he had gone through. He wanted to make him suffer through the loss of both parents. But now, now that feeling of sweet revenge doesn't seem to satisfy him anymore. It all but vanished, and yet the feeling of wanting revenge was still there. Chomper had no idea what was going on with him, but he was determined to find out. "I will find out... but first I must rally up my troops. I will have to find someone else to take my place...but who...?" As his mind entered deep thought, on the other part of the valley, a certain dracovol was flying towards a racing figure.

"Ducky...?" The dracovol flew down and landed just a few feet in front of the cave. He waited for the swimmer to run closer to him and catch her breath before he made any attempt to speak. "What are you doing here...?"

"I-I must tell Littlefoot...something...yep yep...yep..." Her eyes were drooped halfway down and her tongue hung out of her open beak. Her diaphram expanded and contracted several times a minute rapidly. "I found out something...important..."

Littlefoot walked out of the cave as he heard the sound of Ducky's voice. He was ecstatic to see her again. He thought she perished in the battle. "Ducky, I'm so glad to see y.."

"I know I know..." Ducky rudely interrupted. "But Littlefoot I got something to tell you." She looked around her, almost as if she didn't want the wrong people to hear it. This confused Littlefoot. Was it some terrible secret that, if in the wrong hands, would do harm? She walked close to Littlefoot and said in a soft voice, "Chomper is possessed."

But the whisper was, unfortunately for her, loud enough for nearly everyone around her to hear it. "Chomper is what!" She heard the unison shout and covered her ears to shield herself from the loud clamore.

"Yes yes yes, I know it sounds strange, but...the way he was acting...it was just so bizarre." Ducky could feel herself shuddering at the mere thought of the event that took place only an hr or two ago. "He was about to attack me...and he then let me go."

Littlefoot thought about this. This was the first time that Chomper had actually let one of his victims go, or so he thinks. While this behavior confused him, it almost made him happy. He knew the Chomper he once cared for was still in there, encouraging him even more that Chomper's former life as their sharptooth friend could be restored. "It could be a trap..." He finally said, thinking that if he got too happy about Chomper not being in his own control, it could backfire in the end.

Ducky shook her head furiously. "It is not a trap, no no no! I know what I saw." She was about to say something else, but sealed her mouth shut. She knew that if she revealed that Chomper had killed his father, Littlefoot would never consider the possibility of Chomper being possessed.

"Hey Ducky." Ali said softly as she stepped from the cave. She had heard the commotion and decided to come out. She was considering leaving the Great Valley so she could help take care of the kid she and Littlefoot were going to have. But she was debating whether or not she should leave. A pregnant dinosaur isn't much use in battle, since a blow to their stomachs could injure the eggs. And when the eggs are lain, they need constant protection and warmth, and they cannot be left alone that long. With the valley infested with sharpteeth and the occasional egg stealers, Ali may need to find a new place to store her eggs.

"Hi Ali." Ducky said almost dryly.

'Where is Spike?"

"I couldn't find him."

Ali said, "I'm...sorry about that."

Ducky shook her head. "No...no you don't have to be sorry. It's not even your fault anyway."

"So Ducky..." Littlefoot chimed in, drawing Ducky's attention to him. "If you think he's possessed, then who is possessing him, and why?"

"I sadly don't have the answer to that one, no no no." Ducky replied, sounding upset that she couldn't give a reason to the young longneck. "All I know is he wasn't acting like his usual 'psycho' self." Rex chuckled slightly at the 'psycho' comment, but when silent when a few glares came his way.

"What, a guy can't have fun?" He sheepishly asked, knowing very well he wouldn't get much of a good answer out of any one of them. After a long moment of silence, he let out a weak laugh, and then his face changed to that of shame. "Sorry."

Littlefoot slowly shook his head and turned his attention back towards the young swimmer. "How was he not acting like himself?"

"Well he was about to attack me, but stopped, and...and he just started screaming into the sky." Ducky recalled the entire event in her brain. "He said how he wasn't going to do this anymore."

Suddenly a strange and yet familiar voice sounded out behind them. The voice startled the young group and they jumped in shock. "I was correct. My suspicions were correct, sadly but truly."

Littlefoot exclaimed, "Doc!"

Doc replied, "Yes. I was right about the situation then. Ducky confirmed it." He looked in her direction.

"What did she confirm?" Ali asked cautiously.

"Chomper was possessed this whole time." He closed his eyes and sighed sadly. "That explains a lot, if you think about it. But it also means something else. It also means that magic is in the air." He knew it sounded corny, and he somehow wished he worded it better.

"Magic...?" Rex blinked. "But I thought magic wasn't real..."

Doc lifted his head up high. "It's real all right, young man. How do you think I, a dead dinosaur, am still standing here, solid and in the flesh?" Rex tried to find an answer, but he remained silent as stone.

Sandstorm stepped up.

"Doc is right." He said softly. "You all must remember, magic may seem wonderous, but it can actually be quite deadly..if used in the wrong hands."

Outside the cave, Ichy and Gorjak clashed, high up in the skies. Their talons locked with each other. And then they started to spin around as they dove straight down. The ground grew larger and larger as they plummeted faster and faster. Soon the environment seemed to disappear into a blur of confusion and nothingness as their eyes and brain could no longer cope and they went blind.

"We are approaching the ground fast, little one." Gorjak sneared, showing no emotion whatsoever. "If you want to let go, if you want to live, I understand."

"What and risk you ruining the mission? I don't think so, pal!" Ichy fearlessly hung on, knowing well that if neither of them let go, they could risk killing each other. But the toothed bird would rather risk death than allow the rebel escape and do who knows what.

Dil wished with all her might that she could see what was going on. But in her eyes, the world was nothing but a blur. She couldn't make out the spinning figures in the air, let alone tell them apart. She could only faintly hear them scream at each other as they plummeted towards the earth. She felt compelled to spring forward to try to stop them. But she realized that she couldn't. How could one stop something they could not see?

"Ichy...be careful." She seemed almost horrified by what she said. Was she actually worried about the bird? He never treated her all that well, forcing her into all the hard work and complaining his job was just as hard. But she also knew she couldn't hunt without him. She was caught in a stone and hard place. She couldn't live with him, with his constant bossing around and pushing her around, but she couldn't live without him, for without his guidance, she couldn't catch the slowest of prey.

"Just what are you doing here?" Dil shuddered at the sound of the voice. She knew it wasn't Chomper, but the voice was just as threatening. She turned around to face the source of the voice, but the only thing she saw as a blur that was faintly purple.

Gasher snarled. "Answer me!"

"Why do you want to know?" Dil snapped back, revealing her sharp teeth.

"I don't recall General Chomper telling you and your bird...hey where is that bird brain of yours?" Gasher walked around in a circle, and stopped on the other side of Dil, looking left to right. "You're never without him."

Since Dil couldn't see, all she could do was point up and say, "He and Gorjak are up there, fighting."

"Wha...?" The purple raptor looked upwards to try and find the flyers. At first all he saw was a small dot. But it quickly grew larger and he recognized the two figures. It was the rebellious Gorjak and the bird, Ichy! He turned his head to Dil. "Why are they fighting?"

Dil rolled her eyes in annoyance. "If you must know, they made a little bet. Whoever won got a meal and whoever one got a..." She winced as Ichy and Gorjak made their crash landing...right on top of Gasher. "...meal..."

"Get of..." Gasher grumbled, pushing the bird and flyer off of his back.

"B-Best two of th-three..." Ichy muttered before falling onto the hard ground.

When nightfall came onto the valley once again, Rex had left the cave and travelled a few miles away. He just had to get away from it all. He'd seen enough already and the concept of magic was still nagging at his brain. Rex found it hard to believe that any individual dinosaur could harness incredible power. He decided to rest his mind. He walked over to the river, and began drinking.

"I just need to stop thinking so much."

As he raised his head to shake it dry, he opened his eyes and looked at his reflection. He gasped and stepped back. As he stared into the water, he could not see his own reflection. But instead, he was looking at the body of a sharptooth. It looked nothing like the kind that Chomper's 'adopted' parents were, a tyrannosaurus. It looked...different from any sharptooth he's seen personally. The snout of the sharptooth was long like a bellydragger's, lined with pointed teeth. It didn't walk almost upright, like Chomper did, but instead it walked with its body straight forward, like a pachy when it's charging at an enemy. Its long tail balanced its massive body, and its feet and hands were armed with claws.

Rex blinked. One feature stood out more than even the croc-like snout. On the hands were large sickle claws, like the raptors had. The sharp claw curved forward, well in front of the other digits. The vicious hooks looked much sharper than a raptor's own sickle claw, and it could possibly slice through flesh, not just puncture it. The sharptooth's body was a mild green with a pale yellow belly.

He blinked again, but this time, the image shifted. Then a new animal appeared. Rex backed away in almost sheer horror. The terrifying creature that now was in the water reflection as a gigantic long necked reptile with huge wings like that of a flyer, but with sharp hooks. Huge spines rose from its back and snaked along to the tip of its tail. The tail was sharply pointed and hard. It had muscular legs, the back ones curving like the modern day dog's. Horns jetted out on the face of the creature and huge sharp teeth curved out of its top jaw. Something that looked like fire steamed out of its nose.

"What...what is that...?" Rex shuddered, backing away from the terrible reflection. Little did he know that something was looking in his direction. In the trees nearby, a set of red eyes belonging to General Chomper, were shifting their intense gaze at the flying sharptooth.

"My search...is over." He spoke in a voice that was not his own. 


	31. Scheme

(A/N Christmas is tomorrow! Yay! Merry Christmas everyone! And yeah this is a short chapter again. Wish I could come up with more ideas.)

Part IV: The Betrayal

After the odd experience, Rex ran back to the cave to consult Sandstorm. He told the old veteran everything about what happened at the river. He described how the image shifted twice, first revealing a sailback, and then some unknown creature he's never seen. As he explained all of this, Sandstorm stood silent, almost emotionless. A few times he blinked in confusion. The concept of something like this he's never encountered before, but he's heard a few rumors from a pack of adult ridgeheads. Sandstorm wasn't sure to believe what they had said, or accept it as fact. There was no proof before of reincarnation, or the restarting of a life, and there still wasn't proof today.

Rex finally finished his story, panting a little. He still seemed scared from when he saw the reflection of the unknown creature. He was hoping Sandstorm might have an answer to what it was. Unfortunately, he did not. Sandstorm sadly shook his head.

"I'm sorry Rex, I never heard of such a creature before." His eyelids closed slowly. "Only things I can tell ya is that either you dreamt it up or you could try talking with Doc."

The dracovol snarled slightly. "I am not making this up!"

Sandstorm once again showed no signs of emotion. "Calm down. I didn't say you were."

Rex was about to say something, but he couldn't think of anything to say. Sandstorm couldn't provide any answers for him, apparently. He'd have to go to someone else. He wasn't so willing to speak with Doc. The dead-but-alive dinosaur creeped him out. He just couldn't register the fact that Doc was dead, and yet he was still moving, still breathing like the rest of them. Just something about him didn't feel right. He'd rather go to someone else, someone who was quite familiar with this magic stuff.

Rex turned around, putting his back to Sandstorm. "I'm going for a walk." He declared, folding his wings close to his back.

"Are you sure that's wise?" Sandstorm chirped. "What you saw may have been a prediction--"

"But I thought you said... Prediction...?" The dracovol's dark eyes widened at the very word. "Prediction?"

The sickleclaw noddled almost furiously. "It may be warning you of some ominous future for you. But I cannot be certain." He took a step closer. "Do you remember any other details about the creature? Anything you may have left out?"

Rex turned around and stared into Sandstorm's eyes. "Anything...I left out...? Let me think about it." He scratched his chin with his sharp claws as he thought about it. Suddenly a memory came back into his brain. "Oh yeah! The unknown creature looked as though it was breathing fire..."

No sooner had he said this that Sandstorm's pupils contracted into slits and color seemed to pale from his face. "I thought they were only a myth..."

"What was only a myth?"

"Y-You're reflection...was that of a...a..." Sandstorm seemed totally frightened now, stuttering like a little hatchling.

"Of a what?" Rex asked impatiently.

"A flamebreath..." Sandstorm mouthed the word silently.

Rex tilted his head to the side. "A flamebreath...? Never heard of those."

"You're lucky... When I was young my mother told me about them. She says they're quite nasty. They're large beasts to prowl the land, sea, and sky. Their ability to breathe fire makes them almost invulnerable. Their scales act like armor, impossible to penetrate with even the sharpest of claws. Their tails are like that of a clubtail, but even stronger." Sandstorm whimpered. "If you saw that in your reflection, and if that reflection was a prediction, then it means..." He couldn't bring himself to say it.

"But what if it was...me...a past life..?" Rex asked carefully.

Sandstorm's eyes leveled with Rex's eyes. "A past life...? What makes you think it was a...past life?" He asked just as cautiously.

"You see...there was something else I saw in the reflection." He gulped. "A third shift."

"What was it?"

"It looked like me...my adult self... I looked...so creepy...so evil... I...I don't wanna talk about it..." He could feel tears in his eyes. He looked at his hands, shaking. "I had blood in my claws...blood...from a friend..." Sandstorm couldn't figure out what to say. All he could do was watch as Rex trembled, staring at his white claws with shame, confusion, and anger.

Chomper shook his head furiously as he remembered how he was about to capture Rex, but the dracovol flew away before he could do anything. He snarled furiously. "I was close...I was so close..." The voice was once again not his own.

The horned sharptooth strolled along the forest, using his nose to try and catch Rex's scent. The possessed Chomper had seen the reflection, and he knew very well that it was a flamebreath. If he had a flamebreath, even a reincarnation of one, he could be unstoppable! Rex may even possess some of the dragon's powers, like the ability to breath flames without scorching their own mouths. If Rex at least had that ability, the weight of the war would dramatically be shifted in his favor. He smiled almost demonically as he thought of the victorous sharpteeth ruling the Great Valley.

"I must lure Rex onto my side..." Chomper hissed determinedly. "He must come to me."

"Any sign of him, sir?" Loc approached Chomper slowly. "I thought he..."

The blue sharptooth swerved around and stared at him straight in the eye. "I thought I told you to look for Gorjak! I've been told by one of the soldiers that he had come here."

"I-I was sir." Loc stuttered, afraid of the larger dinosaur in front of him. "But I saw you standing here and I thought..."

"Enough excuses!" Chomper snapped, pointing away. "Just keep searching for him!"

Without a word, the red horned sharptooth bolted away into the jungle. Chomper watched him leave, and turned his attention elsewhere. Loc was sometimes a pain, but that is to be expected from a preteenaged dinosaur. He shifted his thoughts back onto Rex. There must be someway to get Rex to come to him. There just had to be something he could do to convince Rex to leave the leaf-eaters' side to join the carnivore's side.

A thought crossed his mind. He had been told by Blueye and Claw that, in the past, they discovered that some of the plant-eaters in the Feeding Area would sacrifice themselves to save someone that they loved. And there were others who would boldy defend someone..for love. Love seemed to strongly bond two dinosaurs together, and they would loyally defend each other.

It seemed like a shrewd idea, an almost disgusting one. But he may be able to win Rex over, and if he could get him on his side, then he could bring forth more sharpteeth, and completely overwhelm the plant-eaters! Victory would be his!

"I'll find him...and I'll make him mine... Littlefoot, your days are numbered." The dark demonic voice growled as Chomper traveled on further, still looking for the dragon reincarnation. 


	32. Spy in the Midst

(A/N HAPPY NEW YEAR! And...here's the next chap, finally.)

Part IV: The Betrayal

"But how should I go about it...?" Chomper thought to himself. He needed some way to lure Rex away from the group. He couldn't just waltz up there. He would have to get Rex alone, but how to do that at a distance? Rex was a flyer, so he would go faster, and thus be seperated from the group easily if he just kept on flying. But knowing the dracovol, he probably slows down to wait for the others to catch up. And Chomper was smart enough to know also that the plant-eaters wouldn't stray too far from their hideout, so the horned sharptooth couldn't just sit here and wait. Unless Rex gets bold and goes much further out, it was doubtful he'd bump into him.

Chomper growled in frustration. He could almost feel his veins burst as he tried in vain to come up with a plan. Usually he's really good at plotting, but in this case, there didn't seem to be many logical options to choose. He leaned against hard rock, his eyes closed tightly. He impatiently scratched the floor with his foot. Three large indentations could now be seen in the soil. "Ugh..." The carnotaur looked up at the sky, eyes now open but narrowed. He bared his teeth. "It can't be this hard to come up with a plan like this!"

"Might I make a suggestion, sir?" A cool feminine voice questioned from beside Chomper.

Chomper swerved around to see Blueye standing there. Chomper sighed with relief, realizing it was just a sickleclaw. "You have a plan?" The pale yellow sickleclaw nodded, smiling slightly. "Okay. Shoot."

Blueye paced slowly, her head remaining looking in his direction, rarely looking away. "If you want Rex to come to you, why not use one of his friends as bait?" Chomper cocked an eyebrow, interested. "All you'd have to do is capture someone Rex knows and cares about, and lead him to you." Smiling, she said, "You can make him yours then. If he doesn't comply, you could kill off his pal."

For a while, Chomper just stood there, silent. His face was a mask devoid of all emotion, save for a slightly raised eyebrow. Blueye started to feel nervous. Whenever Chomper was like this, usually meant he didn't like the idea. And she knew what sometimes happens when Chomper didn't like something. Shaking, the small sharptooth backed away, cowering in the shadow of the horned sharptooth. All was silent except for the sound of breaking from the two animals. Chomper's red eyes glinted in the light.

After many minutes, Chomper started to speak slowly, voice dark. "You want me...to try and find someone he knows, and use them as bait?" The raptor gulped, and didn't respond. After several more minutes passed in eerie silence, sound of the trees' leaves russling easily heard from miles away. Suddenly Chomper smiled crookedly. "I love it! I love it!"

The pale yellow raptor, almost too stunned to move, let out a huge sight of relief. She wiped her forehead. "That was close..." She whispered.

Chomper lowered his gaze towards her face. "But..do you know where I could find one of his pals? It'd be too much of a hassle to try and capture the ones at the hideout."

Blueye answered, "Well Claw and I did discover another traitor in the sickleclaw pack." She said dutifully. "Well not really a traitor. Turns out he was spying on us, but before he could make his first trip to the plant-eaters, Red and Snowbound apprehended him. They brought him to the Prisoner's Corner, back in Fortress Valley. But one of our flyer scouts spotted him entering the valley. We don't know where he is exactly, but he's here...somewhere."

Chomper blinked. "So, you're telling me there was a spy in our group?" After recieving a nod from Blueye, he shook his head. "Why can't all sharpteeth understand what I'm trying to do?" He let out a sigh. He wasn' expecting an answer. "Who was he? And why didn't anyone tell me about this?" His eyes flashed with anger.

She cringed as she stared at his eyes. "We didn't tell because...because..." She struggled to come up with a good reason why no one's mentioned the spy before. "Well...you see...we thought...well we were going to...I mean...I-I..." Her mind just wasn't working for her at this particular moment.

He growled under his breath. "Fine, you don't have to tell me why. Just tell me who the spy was."

(A/N Yes, I did get permission from Sora W.T.K to use Yu.)

"His name is Yu." Blueye answered softly. Chomper's eyes widened at the mention of the name. "In appearance, he's a..."

She was cut off abruptly. "He's a sickleclaw, green with blue stripes, with blue-green eyes."

"Y-You know him?" She asked cautiously.

"Yes...Yes I know him..." He closed his eyes as memories flooded back to him. "I met Yu when I was younger. We were best pals but...that was a long time ago." His eyes snapped open, full of determination and fury. "Things are different now!"

"So how do you want us to go about in capturing the spy?"

The blue sharptooth looked down at the raptor. "Send out a couple of the strongest raptors to apprehend him. Send out even 10 or 20 if you must!"

Blueye saluted her boss. "As you wish, sir!" With that, she took off to find her fellow sickleclaws and handpick the strongest and fastest ones. Chomper watched her leave, and he turned around and walked away. He was unaware that he was being watched by a small figure, perched high up in the trees, body shielded by the large treestars.

The past few days had been confusing for Petrie. He hadn't seen Littlefoot or the others for a while. He had taken off to fly around, and he had been attacked by a dark flyer. He couldn't remember much of what happened, but he had been hopelessly lost since then. He had inadvertantly hid himself in a tree that was very close to where some of Chomper's troops had been hiding. He barely managed to fly away in time before the troops spotted him.

He had found this tree, and thought it would be better. But with Chomper so close by today, he was frozen in terror. He was grateful that Chomper didn't see him up in the treetops. He had caught bits and pieces of the conversation. He was too high up to hear every word, but he understood enough. Upon hearing the names Yu and Rex, and the word capture, Petrie was able to piece together inside his mind what Chomper was planning to do. And he wasn't about to let that happen! He'd have to find Yu first himself.

Petrie said, "Me must find Yu! Me must!" Gathering up all his courage, Petrie jumped off the branch and started soaring through the sky. His huge eyes scanned the ground for any raptor-like form. It wasn't long before he spotted something and he banked in that direction to get a closer look.

Down further where Petrie was going, a young velociraptor was roaming about. His back was hunched and he was sleeking along the side of the wall. He was sticking to the shadows as much as he could and his green body was distorted by the green foliage he was walking through. The only thing that stood out was his blue stripes. Yu heard something, and he pressed his back against the stone wall, his blue-green eyes, wide, scanning for any sign of enemy raptors. He couldn't see any, and he moved on ahead, but still cautious about his surroundings.

Yu sniffed the air. When he caught a whiff of something, he moved in that direction. He was trying to track down Littlefoot and Rex. No matter how long it's been since they've seen each other, Yu would never forget their scent. The green sickleclaw had learned a lot about Chomper's schemes and he was planning on sharing his information with Littlefoot. But first, he'd have to find Littlefoot. The Great Valley was huge, and Yu had no idea where the plant-eaters were hiding.

"This is like finding a bone in a giant dirt pile." He muttered almost bitterly to himself. He took another sniff of the air, and growled in frustration when he could no longer pick up the scent. It was too well mangled in with the scent of rotting flesh, other plant-eaters, and many sharpteeth who had passed by this place before. "How will I ever find them!"

Almost as if on cue, something knocked him on the pack of the head. He let out a scream of pain and turned around, teeth bared for the attacker. But when he didn't see anyone, he felt confused. Then he heard someone speaking. "Yu! Yu! Yu!"

"Who's there?" He asked, voice still stern with caution.

"Yu! It me! Petrie!"

"Petrie?" Yu spotted the flyer. "Petrie it is you! My how you've grown.." He commented, admiring Petrie's wingspan in envy.

"No time for standing around! You must hide!" Petrie shouted in panic.

The green sickleclaw titled his head to one side. "Why?"

"Chomper! He plans to capture you!"

"Why?" Yu asked, though it was clear he was already scared.

"To get to Rex!" Petrie answered loudly. 


	33. Hide And Go Seek

(A/N: Sorry again for the delay. I should really update more often.)

Part IV: The Betrayal

"Rex..." Yu closed his eyes and memories flooded back to him. It had been so long since he seen Rex, or heard his name. It was almost like it was from some distance dream he had long forgot about. "It's been so long since I've seen him...Why would Chomper want him?"

Petrie lowered his head. "Me no know for sure. But me thinks he want to turn Rex against us all!"

Yu lashed his tail from side to side. "Chomper has way too many dinosaurs. We can't let him get another!" But while Yu sounded confident, deep down he was terrified. He know bore three scars on his body, all of them he got from Red. Red...he shuddered as he thought of the name. Thanks to his struggle with Red, Yu now had a scar on his snout, a scar on his neck, and a scar on his side. And they were all still painful and swollen. He gingerly touched the scar on his snout, and instantly recoiled in pain. Petrie noticed this, and peered at the wound.

"That one wicked cut..." He said softly, looking at Yu with pity.

"Tell me about it..." Yu said sorely. "It's been about a week since I got it, and it still hurts like nothing else!"

Petrie nodded sympathetically, but then remembered what he had originally come to do. "We go, now!" He said almost demandingly. "If sharpteeth find us, we doomed!" He was flapping his wings frantically, feeling his heart racing just by thinking of what would happen if they were ambushed by the sharpteeth that Chomper had sent out to look for Yu the raptor. He cautiously turned his head to look behind him, and was thankful there was no one there.

"But where will we go?" Yu asked sullenly. "We have no idea where they would be coming from. What if we walk right into a trap?"

Petrie glared at him. "You not quitting, are you?"

Yu looked up into the night sky. "I'm just trying to be realistic, Petrie." He let out a long sigh. "You have no idea what I've been through, when I infliltrated and joined their ranks. I've seen things, Petrie. I've seen what they do, how they lived. There are things that they know." He started trembling. "I know what they are capable of, Petrie. You have no idea what they can do..." He slowly turned his head away. "You don't know what it's like...unless you've been there."

Petrie's expression softened almost all the way. The hint of a frown still remained. "But they here now. If you know so much about them, why no give us a hint in how to beat them?"

Yu gritted his teeth. "That's just it! I-I-I don't know how, exactly. That's why I wanted to talk to Littlefoot. I was hoping he would be able to help me devise a way to stop this madness."

"Ppphmmf! Littlefoot! Why you need him for?" Petrie spat. He was about to say something, but one cold stare from Yu made him shut up.

"What is the matter with you?" Yu growled.

Petrie looked away and at first said nothing. Giving Yu a backward glance, he said, "Littlefoot cause this."

Yu blinked in shock. "I have my doubts about that, Petrie. I wouldn't put the blame all on him."

"Why not?"

"Because Littlefoot is still your friend. Do you think he meant for this to happen?" Before Petrie could answer, Yu answered for him. "No. He didn't."

"Look, me already had talk like this earlier." Petrie said, trying his hardest not to show his anger. "Let just leave and me take you where me last saw Littlefoot..."

Yu smiled a little. "All right, let's go."

But before they could go anywhere, they could almost feel shadows being cast down on them. They heard the rumbling of rocks and snapping of twigs. They could hear footsteps that seem to come from all sides. They turned left and right, trying to find the exact source of the sounds. Petrie, whimpering, flew up into a tree to hide. Yu, frantic, dove behind a rock and curled up into a ball to try and conceal his entire body being it.

The sounds grew louder, and closer. Yu could almost feel the vibrations under the weight of his body as the footsteps drew closer and closer. He could feel the fear rising in his heart. It must be Chomper's troops, most likely looking for him. Petrie may not have told him about how many Chomper sent, but Yu has been with Chomper's pack long enough to expect those kinds of things.

Up in the tree, Petrie had flew onto the highest branch, and snuggled as far against the trunk as he could. He peered through the thick leaves to find where Yu was. He sighed with relief when he spotted him behind the rock. Petrie then turned his attention to where the shadows were coming from. He could tell, from where he was, they were sharptooth shadows. He narrowed his eyes as he strained to see how many there were. The shadows had merged and it looked like there was just one shadow, one creature. But Petrie and Yu both knew better.

Yu and Petrie slowed their breathing. And when they would breathe, they would do it so softly that their chest cavities hardly rose. They were trying to keep the noise down as much as they could. They fear that the sharpteeth could still hear their heartbeats. It scared them how their hearts were starting to race, and if the sharpteeth had good hearing, they would surely detect it.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, they finally caught a glimpse of who was tracking them down. The sharpteeth were velociraptors, about ten of them. Petrie had never seen them before, but Yu recognized a couple of them. There was a black raptor with feathers on his head, like Red, and white stripes, and neon green eyes named Jackel. Then there was a pink raptor with a red belly and pale-blue eyes named Jewel. And finally there was a steel gray raptor with red eyes named Meta. Yu wasn't too afraid of Jewel and Meta. They weren't the strongest raptors in the bunch. They were about his age and they would be easy to beat. But Jackel is going to be a challenge. His strength rivals that of Red's.

The mystery raptors snarled and snapped at each other, as if they were arguing. Jackel snarled loudly, and the quarrelling quickly stopped. He turned his head towards Jewel and bobbed his head. She nodded in return, and ran on foward. Yu was confused. Why would Jackel send one of the weakest members of the sickleclaw pack? Maybe to make her look good?

Jewel pressed her snout against the grass and breathed in deeply. She suddenly caught a whiff of something. Not letting herself raise her head for a second, she tracked the smell towards the tree Petrie had flown up into. She growled softly as she looked up, but soon calmed down when she realized her mistake. She turned her attention back to the scent trail. This time she started towards Yu.

Yu felt his heart race as Jewel got closer and closer to the boulder. He was about to back up further when the pink raptor's head popped over the edge, looking down at him with hungry eyes. Yu suddenly jumped from his hiding place and tried to bolt, but tw of the raptors jumped in front of him, blocking his exit. He got into a defensive position as he snarled at the black raptor that stood before him.

"You're lucky the boss wants you alive." Jackel said coldly, his feathers bristling. "If you ask me, he should just have us kill you."

Petrie dove from the tree without warning and knocked the raptor in the eye. "Take that!" He shouted triumphantly as his attack caused the sharptooth to stagger backwards. Petrie's victory was short-lived when he barely dodged an attack from Meta. Petrie screamed in fear when Jewel launched an attack, and he quickly dodged.

Jackel narrowed his eyes. "I want that pest taken care of." He rubbed his sore eye gently.

One of the raptors nodded. "Yes sir!" The other raptors started to chase after Petrie, leaving Yu alone with Jackel.

"Well well well, I didn't know you were still around, little Yu." The sharptooth chuckled coldly.

Yu smirked. "Well I'm surprised you're leading your own pack, Jackel. I could've sworn that you were the worst in athletics!" He looked at his claws. "Come to think of it, you never beat me in an event." He knew he was making a mistake, but he had to stall for time.

"Oh you think that's real funny don't you?" Jackel smiled viciously. "Well, let's see how funny it is when we take you to Chomper to be used as bait."

Yu stepped back. "You'll have to catch me first!" With that, he sprang his feet into action, racing along the floor at top speed, dodging obstacles.

Jackel rolled his eyes, unimpressed. "Why do they always have to do things the hard way? 


	34. Vanished Guardians And The Offer

(A/N Man I'm still waiting, like, a week before I go on with the next update. oo; Someday I hope to create a website for this fanfic. But I'm not entirely sure if I am or not.)

Part IV: The Betrayal

Yu ran as fast as his legs could push him. He didn't know where he was going. But he knew he had to get away from Jackel, who was now pursuing him along with Meta. Yu was still young, not yet fully grown. And he knew too well that he still couldn't reach the top speeds an adult raptor could. He would have to outmanuever his pursuers. As he felt his heart pounding, racing, he saw something ahead. A boulder from the previous earthshake, laying there. It wasn't gigantic. He could make the jump. Not even looking back, Yu stopped in front of the boulder, tensed up the muscles in his legs, and released it in a powerful leap.

He sailed through the air, and extended out his front claws. Time seemed to slow down as he neared the boulder's rocky surface, and felt his claws scrape into the hard stone. He quickly kicked his legs forward, his sickle claw scraping noisily against the surface, trying to push the rest of his body upward. Hearing the sound of racing footfalls, Yu felt his adrenaline rise and he managed to pull himself on top of the large stone. He braced himself near the edge of the boulder, and pounced downward. He quickly pressed himself against the back of the boulder in the dark shadowy part. He could only hope that this would buy him enough time to escape the raptor's clutches.

Littlefoot stepped out of the cave. He raised his head towards the sky. The moon was still out. Littlefoot stared at it for several moments, and then turned his head towards the land he had called home. He shivered. He couldn't believe this is where he had grown up. He could almost see his childhoodself, running along the meadow with his pals, back in the days of innocense. He could feel a tear come to his eye as memories of dinosaurs like Cera and Shorty plagued his mind. Who would have guessed they would have to go this way, in this manner?

"I'm sorry...I should have..." He choked back a tear. His voice couldn't come up with the strength to talk any further. He lifted his head up high, seeing everything as far as the eye could see. He could not see any movement, any life. He wondered if the other dinosaurs escaped, or if they were all dead. "Huh. Some Great Valley..." Littlefoot whispered bitterly. He could vaguely remember a childhood memory, way back when he first met Ali. The Old One had mentioned that lands are changing. "I guess the Great Valley wasn't saved from changing..." He said mournfully.

Then he remembered Ali. She was still carrying the child. He had thought she left, but Ducky had reported seeing her still in the valley. "Why hasn't she left...?" Ali knew it was too dangerous to stay here while the sharpteeth were still around. He would have to find her and talk to her. But before he could take a single step forward, he heard footsteps coming from one side of him. He turned his head over and saw that it was Ali who was trotting towards him. The look on her face was both serious and sad.

"Ali!" Littlefoot exclaimed, sounding both happy and angry. "Why haven't you left the Great Valley?"

"I don't think I should, Littlefoot." Ali whispered sullenly, bowing her head.

"What..? Why not?" Littlefoot asked.

Ali looked up at the sky. While she couldn't see anything, there was still a look of fear on her face. "I know Chomper has his evil flyers up there, keeping watch." She looked directly into Littlefoot's eyes. "If I try to leave, they'd spy me for sure, and then what?"

Littlefoot gulped. He had forgotten about the sharptooth flyers that Chomper had allied himself with. Ali could still fight while pregnant, but the extra weight, even though small, would slow her down a bit, which would give the flyers an advantage. Littlefoot couldn't leave. He had to stay and help the remaining dinosaurs combat the sharpteeth.

"I-I don't know what to do Ali...I..."

"M-M-Messa take girl...Messa protect...g-girl..." A familiar, croaking voice said.

Littlefoot and Ali whipped their heads around to see a spiketail staggering towards them. He was almost unrecognizable. Most of his plates were broken and two of his four tailspikes were ripped off. Deep gashes covered his body, most had stopped bleeding. Much of his skin was stained with blood. But the one part that didn't change was his face, and from there Littlefoot and Ali knew who it was.

"Spike..." Littlefoot whispered. "What happened to you...?"

"Tried...to..save...him..." Spike choked out and he collapsed on the floor. Littlefoot and Ali rushed to his side. Spike looked up at them with dull eyes. "Littlefoot...sorry..."

"We have to find help! Ali, go find Doc and Ducky!"

Ali didn't need to be told twice. She went back into the cave to try and locate Doc and Ducky. Meanwhile Littlefoot stayed by Spike's side, consoling him. Spike was still alive, but Littlefoot didn't know how bad the wounds were. Even if they stopped bleeding, there was the account of how much blood was lost, and how much new blood the body was producing. There was also the risk of infection in the still open wounds. The longneck almost gagged as he saw a tiny fly crawl out of one of the wounds.

Littlefoot nudged Spike to keep him awake. "Spike, who did this to you...?"

"Pr-protecting...f-father...Killed..." Spike managed to say before he went into a coughing fit. Some blood poured out of his mouth.

"Who? Who were you protecting...?" Littlefoot asked cautiously.

(A/N I can't remember if Littlefoot already knew about his father's death or not.)

Spike whispered one word, causing a shiver of cold fear to go through the young longneck's body. "B-B-Bron..."

Littlefoot's eyes snapped wide open, his pupils shrank in diameter. His body started shaking, and a few tears streamed from his eyes. "No...no..." He shook his head, trying to deny the fact that Spike had given him. "It can't be, not him. No someone else..." He looked at Spike. "Tell me...was it Chomper again...?"

Spike could only manage a single nod before slipping into unconsciousness. The mention of Chomper's name caused Littlefoot's mind to be whacked with anger, instense anger. He almost refused to believe Ducky's advice about Chomper being possessed. He didn't have much time to mourn when Ali came out of the cave, followed by Ducky and Doc. Ducky cried out in terror as she saw her adopted brother laying on his side, out cold. She rushed towards his body and threw her arms around him, crying.

"Spike..No..no! You can't die, no no no!" She whispered as she buried her face into his neck, ignoring the blood that was pouring onto her.

Doc seemed a bit horrified by the sight too, but years of seeing stuff like that had calloused him a little. He took one look at Spike, and gave a small smile. "He'll live. He just needs to rest while his wounds heal."

(A/N I have no idea if aloe existed in the dinosaur world.)

While Ducky heard the news and was happy, she still couldn't bring herself to stop sobbing. Doc lowered his head to the ground and snapped off an odd shaped plant. It looked like thick blades of grass with slightly jagged edges, but it wasn't sharp. One of them was snapped in two and Littlefoot could see a clear juice inside of it. Curiousity got the better of him. "What's that..?"

Doc couldn't answer right away. He brought the thick strands of grass-like protrusions and set them beside Spike. As soon as the stuff was out of his mouth, he said, "It's a special plant. You break them in half and set them on top of a wound. The medicine inside will kill off any infection and assist in healing." He watched as Ducky picked up one of the aloe sticks and placed it onto one of Spike's open wounds. When Spike cried out in pain, he said, "They will sting a little."

(A/N Heh my third author's note within the story itself. I got the idea for the alimons protecting the valley from EbonyPatriot's story and Sora's story.)

Without warning, Littlefoot suddenly had a huge plague of memories swarm through his mind. He suddenly remembered his grandparents, before they died, telling him about the alimon guardians. He had never seen an alimon before, but he was told that they looked like longnecks but had sharp teeth and sharp claws. They sounded scary to him, but something just didn't seem right. If the alimons were supposed to be guarding the Great Valley, why did Chomper appear in the valley?

"Say Doc..." Littlefoot spoke up. "Have you heard about the alimons that protect the valley?"

Doc looked at him. "I believe so."

"Where are they...?" He asked softly as he stared at the great walls circling the once paradise valley.

"I have no idea." Doc looked in the same direction as Littlefoot. "It is strange for them not to stop intruders. The only thing I can think of is that either they were overwhelmed by the sheer number of sharpteeth coming or someone who knew magic stopped them..." His voice trailed off as he suddenly remembered one individual who could. "I think I know who did it."

"Did what?"

"I think I know who stopped the alimons from leaving their home in the caves." Doc said solemnly. "It had to have been him..."

Littlefoot whispered, "Who...?"

Miles away, Rex had decided to take yet another walk. He was feeling restless, feeling the tension of the downtime. It's been about two days since the war had ceased, but the smell of battle was still in the air. He was haunted with the smell of rotting flesh that filled the air of the valley now. He went in one direction, his wings spread wide in case he needed to take flight.

"Why did this have to happen? This isn't how it was supposed to be..." Rex now wished he could go back in time to when he was a careless child, back in the days of youth and play, where he didn't have to worry about battles and life and death situations.

He then saw a small lizard. The lizard was a poor excuse for a reptile, being smaller than the tooth of a large sharptooth. It was a bright green with a pale yellow underside. The lizard reminded him of the tinysauruses that Littlefoot told him about. He often wondered where they had gone, but he was convinced that they were hiding underground. They wouldn't be of much help to the others. They would killed killed for sure!

The lizard let out a small chirping sound, indicating it was threatened by Rex's face being so close to it. Rex snarled a little and the lizard started to run away. Without warning one of Rex's eyes glowed red and he opened his mouth to scream something, but something else had happened.

A fireball, small in side, burning with intense heat and flames, formed outside of his mouth and blasted forward like a small bomb. It hurled at the lizard and struck it. The lizard let out a pained scream as the flames burned its body. Rex watched as some of the internal organs came into view and then burst into flames as the fire spread inside its tiny body. Within seconds, the lizard was reduced to a tiny black skeleton, which soon burst into dust and was carried away through the wind.

Rex's eye returned to normal and horror registered in his mind. He looked at his claws, and then placed them onto his snout. He could feel no burn, no pain, no heat. But the smell of smoke and fire was still in the air, and he let out a few coughs. Right where he had struck the lizard, there was no fire, but a ring of ash circled where the lizard once was.

"W-What did I just do...?" He said, shaking in fear.

"Good." A dark voice said from behind him. Rex turned around to see who it was. "It has begun."

"Chomper!" Rex said in fear, but he braced himself for a fight. He was surprised at what Chomper said next.

Putting his short hand out, he said, "I didn't come here to fight. I came here to make a proposition for you." Rex didn't say anything, so Chomper continued. "Why don't you join me?"

Rex breathed out so quickly that a puff of smoke came out. Ignoring it, he growled, "Why would I join you?"

Chomper smiled. "I knew you'd ask that. So I brought a little friend over." He turned his head over his shoulder. "Oh boys...?"

The dracovol was horrified when two sickleclaws emerged from the shadows, carrying a prone figure with them. They held the dinosaur up by his arms. The dinosaur was green with blue stripes. Rex recognized him in an instant.

"Yu!" 


	35. No Choice

(A/N Okay here we go, finally got this chapter written. )

Part IV: The Betrayal

Rex growled at Chomper. He wanted to lunge at him. He wanted to use his claws and rip out his throat. How dare he do something so low! Chomper had captured a dinosaur and was now going to use it against Rex, he knew that. The dracovol's heart was filling with anger as he thought of the horrible things Chomper may have done to Yu in his capture. Even though Yu looked fine, that didn't mean that there wasn't a hidden gash somewhere, out of sight.

Chomper noticed Rex's anger and merely smiled. Bowing his head forward, pointing his sharp horns in Rex's direction, he said, "That's right...Let your heart fill with anger. That is the fuel for your true form..."

Rex blinked with confusion. His true form? He might've been talking about the creepy form he had seen in the water earlier. The one glowing red eye, he could feel it when he spat out fire just moments before. The red eye appeared when he was starting to feel angry about something. And now that he thought about it, he could feel the red eye once more, when he was getting angry at Chomper. Horrified, he covered his eye with his hand to conceal the unusual light.

"Oh you shouldn't hide the eye. It's a symbol of your power." Chomper grinned, more to himself than for Rex. "You are stronger than you think, Rex. And you belong to me..." He held out a hand and made a gesture for Rex to come closer.

The blue flyer snarled in response and took a step back. "I'm not joining you! No way on this planet would I ever consider doing that!" He closed his eyes and folded his arms stubbornly.

Chomper's red eyes narrowed dangerously. "Not even if it's to save your friend..?" He pointed his head towards Yu, who was still out cold.

Rex snapped out of his composure and whirled in Chomper's directions, eyes wide with anger and fear. "Y-You wouldn't dare..." He muttered.

"Oh...would I...?" Chomper growled almost playfully as he snapped one of his claws. Almost instantly, one of the sickleclaws opened their jaws and lightly set them around Yu's throat. He didn't bite down, but he was threatening too. After a few moments of this, Chomper raised his hand, and the sickleclaw stopped.

Rex gulped and looked at Chomper in fear. He was faced with a tough situation. He was caught between a rock and a hard place. And he had no idea how to get out. His eyes hardly leaving Chomper or Yu, Rex felt his mind fill to capacity with useless questions about what to do. He knew he couldn't just leave Yu to be destroyed by this...this monster! But he also couldn't join Chomper. He'd be a traitor, and he didn't want to break the trust that he had built with Littlefoot and the others. It was a lose/lose situation for him. If only he could just find some way out of it. But his mind was drawing up a blank. He knew the situation was black and white. Either he did what Chomper told him, or Yu would die. It was as simple as that. There was no way around it.

Rex took a step forward. "Why would you want me to do join you?" A hint of challenge was on his voice.

"Why?" Chomper asked, eyes wide almost as if shocked by what Rex had just said. "Why, dear Rex..." He said with a hint of sarcasm. "You would make a very valuable asset to my group. And if you join, you won't be attacked by my troups." He tapped his claws together. "Think about it. You'll be safer with us than with them, the plant-eaters. You belong with us, Rex. You are a sharptooth."

"Oh yeah? Are you sure it isn't because my past life was a flamebreath?" He asked almost angrily. To prove his point, he gathered in his mind as much anger as he could and he could feel a flame burn inside his mouth. Instinctively, he spat it out, and the fireball struck close to the ground to where Chomper was. Chomper however showed no fear whatsoever. He just glanced at the area where the fireball struck, and then eyed Rex again.

He spoke, "Tsk tsk tsk. You really need to work on your aim." He grinned.

Rex growled angrily, but when Chomper raised his hand again to signal for one of the raptors to try and pull something, Rex stopped in his tracks. He was breathing heavily now, from the emotions that now invaded his brain and wouldn't leave him alone. He kept trying to find the best solution, but both decisions that he could make would make him hate himself, and there would still be death and suffering. Taking one glance back at Yu's unconscious form, he turned back to Chomper. He bowed his head in defeat.

"All right... you win..." He muttered, though it was clear he wasn't happy with his decision and how he had to have made it.

Chomper smirked evilly and nodded his head at the raptors. Simultaeneously, they released Yu, tossing him to the floor next to Rex. The rough impact against cold earth was enough to startle the young raptor into waking up. "What? Who? When? Where? Why?" He said really fast before he came to his senses. "Man what happened?" He turned to see Rex standing next to him. "Hi Rex." He said almost cheerfully.

Rex took one look at Yu, and his expression changed to sadness. He didn't answer Yu's greeting. Yu tilted his head. "Rex? What's wrong?" But still Rex wouldn't answer. The dracovol took one look at Chomper, and then looked back at Yu.

He whispered, "I'm...sorry Yu..." With that sad, Rex started walking towards Chomper. The young raptor had suspected the dracovol was going to attack. He was shocked when Rex didn't attack, but rather stood beside him.

Yu scrambled to his feet. "Rex? What do you think you're doing? You can't do this...you can't do this...You...You...How could you?" He pointed an accusing finger at Rex, shaking from confusion and rising anger. Rex simply turned his head away, ashamed.

Chomper answered for him. "He's coming with me. Rex did this to save you, Yu. Rex is part of my troups now." Smiling at the velociraptor's horrified expression, the carnotaurus looked down at his new and yet unwilling companion. "And I already have a mission for you. You'll get a real kick out of it..." He smiled darkly. Rex looked up at his new master, awaiting orders. He didn't want to do this, but if he wanted Yu to survive, he'd have no choice.

"I want you...to find Littlefoot...and attack him!" Something inside Rex stirred. And all those nearby could see that one of his eyes started to glow bloody red...

(A/N Yeah this chapter was pretty rushed. I wrote this in the middle of the night, which would explain it.) 


	36. Plan In Motion

(A/N Finally got around to typing the next chap. Lost track of time. Silly me. And yes, this chapter has a couple mild hints of slash.)

Part IV: The Betrayal

Yu could feel his heart racing. Leaves kicked up into the air as he zipped by. He wouldn't stop for anything. Nothing could make him stop. He wasn't being chased by anyone physically. He was being driven by horror and realization. He felt the muscles in his legs start burning, as if he was using up too much of their energy to run. He looked behind him. He could not see anyone chasing after him, but he kept feeling this sensation that someone was. He had to reach the cave. He had to try and warn Littlefoot. Things had taken a turn for the worse. Yu knew that Chomper could be very influential, but he didn't realize just how influential.

How could this have happened? This wasn't supposed to happen! No, not this! Yu's mind was plagued with several different emotions, including anger, fear, and confusion. He just kept on running. He had no idea where the cave was now that he thought about it, but he believed that risking getting there was better than not trying anything at all. "I have to get there in time..." He told himself.

His throat was starting to get dry now. He hadn't had a drink of water in a while, and all this extra running was making him feel dehydrated. He started to slow down a little, despite the danger. He finally came to a full stop up against a tree near a clearing. He looked out ahead, and could see the other side of the valley, and a cave-like structure. He gave a small smile. It had to be the others! "Almost...there..." He whispered, and started to drag his weakened body forward, tail dragging along the ground and body hunched forward.

Rex had watched, almost coldly, as Yu ran forward. Chomper stood beside him, looking down at him in an almost loving manner. Chomper seemed proud, like a father, that Rex had chosen to come for him. The dracovol's appearance had changed, and that's what startled Yu into dashing off. Rex was larger, now about the same size as Chomper. He still walked upright, but his claws were a lot longer and sharper, and he had long sharp spike sticking out of his back. His wings were now ripped and torn but he could still somehow fly. He had two sharp teeth protruding downwards like sabreteeth, and two others pointing upwards, like tusks. One of his eyes had a red glow to it.

Chomper didn't know why his appearance changed like that. But considering how Rex's former life was a dragon, perhaps this was sort of a fusion of the two, part dragon and part dinosaur. He merely shrugged. He found himself resting his head on the back of Rex's neck, inbetween two of the sharp spikes. The anthro dinosaur did nothing to push Chomper away. In fact, he almost seemed to welcome it. Rex did need the assurance that he would still have friends.

"So, are you ready?" Chomper asked as he pulled himself away from Rex.

"Couldn't be more ready." Rex answered back, his voice sounded almost robotic and lifeless.

The other snarled with satisfaction. "Good..."

"Hey! Boss!" A voice rang out, almost startling the two sharpteeth. From behind ran Dil, Ichy riding on her back. Beside them was Loc, who was holding a knocked out Gorjak. "We captured Gorjak fo--Hey! What's he doing here!" Ichy demanded, pointing a finger at the dracovol. "I thought you told us he was with them rotten little animals!" Well technically they weren't really little anymore.

Chomper turned around and slowly walked towards the group that had just presented themselves, brushing his flank and tail against Rex's side in doing so. "Not anymore."

Dil's weak eyes widened with shock. "Not anymore...? You mean he's one of us now?" She turned her head towards the general direction of Loc. Though she could hardly see it, he gave a shrug and shook his head.

Loc stepped forth. "Are you sure this is wise, General Chomper?" He never took his eyes off of Rex, despite the shocking new look. "How can we be certain he'd do what you told him to do and pull off whatever task you have?"

As a response, Rex whirled around. He opened his mouth at a whopping 90 degrees, much like that of pythons and anacondas, and rushed forward towards Loc. The red carnotaurus had little time to react when the gaping mouth clamped down only a milimeter from his head. He recoiled back, alarmed by this sudden response. Rex felt his own mouth curl into a terrible smile.

"Not only will I pull it off, I'll chew it up and spit it out!" He responded in a growly demonic voice.

Loc gulped, putting one of his feet behind him. "If you put it that way..." Loc wasn't sure if he liked the new Rex. "Chomper, what do you plan to do with him?"

"Oh, isn't it obvious? I'm recruiting him for a very special mission." The blue carnotaurus flexed out his hand claws, stretching out the muscle. "He's going to locate the cave that my dear old friend Littlefoot his hiding in." He said those words with heavy sarcasm. "Then he's going to lure him to me..." He looked towards the dracovol, the torn wings twitching a little. "Isn't that right, flamebreath?"

Rex gave a single nod, his bright red eye looking in the direction of his new master.

Upon hearing the word 'flamebreath', Loc stifled a gasp. "Flamebreath! You can't use that in a war!" He protested, shaking visibly. "I thought there was a law against it, or something!"

Dil and Ichy looked at each other, confused as to what was going on. Ichy got off of Dil's armored back and perched himself on the snout of Loc. He lowered his head, lightly pressing the back of his smooth black beak between the dinosaur's eyes. "Hey, Loc. Just what is a flamebreath...?" Loc shook his head almost violently, and Ichy had to take flight. "Hey, watch it, pal!"

"A flamebreath...according to legend, is something...something like a dinosaur, only it isn't a dinosaur. They have sharp talons and huge wings...they got spikes and horns... They usually gigantic and tenacious. They have an appetite for blood and flesh, and are relentess in their hunts. They can breath flames from their mouth, and survive intense heat. Some say they can live inside smoking mountains. They say that their scales are fireproof." Loc said slowy and carefully, the look of fear in his wide eyes still present.

Dil and Ichy said nothing. Their mouths dropped in horror, and they slowly turned their heads, looking at each other straight in the eyes. Such a creature sounded almost impossible to exist, and yet one was standing before them: Rex. This creature of mass destruction sounded like something out of a horror story, something that could bring about apocalypse. If there truly was a law that banned using them in a war, they could clearly see the reason why.

Chomper didn't have much time for this. He turned his head towards Rex, giving him a sideways glance. "You ready to go now?"

Rex smiled evilly. "Oh yes, I am..."

"Good. Go!"

Littlefoot was pacing around nervously just outside of the cave. Everyone else was inside, but he was still outside. He wasn't sure why he hadn't gone back inside. Maybe it was because he was too scared. Maybe he felt compelled to stay outside. Whatever the reason, he couldn't bring himself to go back inside.

His thought were interrupted when something seemed to burst along the ground, and a green figure, battered and bruised, collapsed down in front of him. As Littlefoot approached the near prone figure, he gasped.

"Yu! What happened to you!" Littlefoot used his tail to lift Yu onto his feet.

The raptor strugged to stand on his wobbly legs. He brushed himself off slowly and looked up at the towering longneck. Ignoring any feeling of shock about this new size, Yu chatted nervously, "I-I-It's Rex! I think he...I think...he..."

Littlefoot looked at the sickleclaw intently, voice laced with worry. "What happened to Rex?"

"Chomper forced him to switch sides!"

While Littlefoot's head snapped back, both from the shock of it all, and anger that Yu would accuse Rex of such a thing, a figure stepped from the bushes. The familiar straight body, the straight legs, the kind face, all were revealed as the figure walked towards them. His expression was that of hurt.

"Why Yu...how could you say such a thing?" He said in an unnaturally sweet voice. 


	37. Distorted Truth

(A/N: Sorry sorry sorry for the 2 week delay! The reason I didn't submit anything last week was because I had fallen ill. :( I couldn't write anything due to the fever I had. Well anyway here's chapter 37! I also made the chapter shorter. ; Not much ideas and I wanted to get this chap up as soon as possible.)

Part IV: The Betrayal

Yu lifted his tail high and flexed out his claws threateningly. His lips curled back exposing his razor sharp teeth, he walked slowly forward, leg muscles flexed to jump in for the kill. "Don't trust him, Littlefoot... This isn't the Rex you knew..." Rex only gave a knowing smile as the velociraptor prepared to attack him. He could hear the sickle claw tap against the ground, the clicking noise that would send chills up most creatures' spines, but not his.

Yu growled at Rex's calm composure. The dracovol didn't seem to care that Yu was threatening to rip out his threat, to dig his claws into his vulnerable belly, to make him bleed. Hissing like crazy, Yu broke out into a run, mouth wide open to deliver one ferocious bite. And all the while, Rex just stood there, smiling with that creepy grin on his face...

"Yu! Stop!" Littlefoot shouted angrily. As Yu skidding to a sudden stop, he continued, "This is Rex here! How can you accuse him of such treachery?"

Rex turned to Yu with a satisfied smile that told him he was in trouble. Yu scowled at this, and turned to Littlefoot. "You've got to trust me! It's not safe with him! He's...changed...Littlefoot. He's changed."

Littlefoot could not believe what he was hearing. Yu, accusing Rex of being a traitor! The longneck could very well remember what happened so long ago. He could recall the day that Kumo first appeared in their lives. He could remember how the raptors and his own friends thought Rex betrayed them. He remembered that it took Kumo himself to clear Rex's name. And now Yu was actually accusing Rex, once more, of traitory. Since the last time Rex was innocent, why couldn't he be this time around? Littlefoot knew the dracovol well. He knew that he would never really betray him!

"I'm sorry, Yu...but I just don't believe you." The velociraptor gasped. "I mean, how do I know this isn't some sort of mix-up? Maybe it was Kumo you saw."

Yu shook his head violently. "No! It was Rex, I swear!"

Rex shook his head, chuckling softly. "Such an imagination, young raptor. Such an imagination." He looked at Littlefoot, and smiled. "Ah, he probably ate something that's making him delirious. Don't worry about him."

"It's not my imagination! I saw you strike the deal with Chomper!" He pointed an accusing finger at Rex.

"That is enough Yu." Littlefoot spoke softly. "Why don't you go inside the cave and speak with Doc? Maybe he'll tell you why you're imagining things."

Yu snarled angrily as he walked away. "The one day I actually want to save someone who is supposed to be my prey, and he doesn't believe me! How typical. You longnecks were always so easy to trick!" He disappeared into the cave, leaving Littlefoot and Rex all alone.

The dracovol closed his eyes and leaned against the bark of a sturdy and strong tree. It seemed to rise for about a mile high. "That Yu...he's something, isn't he?"

"Yeah...I can't believe he would actually accuse you of joining the dark side! Heh, can you think of something more ridiculous?"

"No, I can't say I can." Rex replied, not opening his eyes once.

"So where you, actually?" Littlefoot pondered, walking up to his dracovol friend. "You've been gone for quite some time."

Rex looked at his longnecked friend, and gave a shrug. "Eh, out for a walk."

"Some walk..." Littlefoot smirked softly, raising an eyebrow. "You were gone half the day."

"So I wanted some alone time, okay?" The dracovol snapped, clawing into the bark of the tree with the nails on his right hand. "Is there a problem with that or something?"

The longneck backed away a little, surprised at the dracovol's sudden, if mild, anger. What happened to Rex? Could Yu have been right? No! No he can't be right! Rex is probably just stressed out because of the war and Chomper and such. Yeah, it must be the stress doing this to him. Littlefoot himself was feeling more bitter ever since this whole battle had started. The agony of war had pelted him with uncomfortable nightmares, making him more aggressive each day, though he tried to hide it from his friends.

"No..no problem." Littlefoot murmured softly. "I didn't want to make you angry..."

Rex turned to him, and softened his expression. He stopped leaning against the tree, and walked towards the plant eater with an almost creepy smile on his snout. "That's all right. I was just a little angry is all..." He faked a thinking pose. "Oh, say, why don't we go for a little walk? I'm sure the others won't mind if we were gone a few minutes." He grinned. "Just to chat."

Littlefoot shifted his gaze up towards the dark skies. "Hmm...I don't know..." He looked back at the cave. "If they noticed we were gone, wouldn't they come looking for us?"

"We'll be back before they even know we left." Rex said. "Trust me."

Littlefoot pondered this for a few minutes. If they would only be gone a few minutes, then the others could take care of themselves. Surely they wouldn't panic even if they did notice they were gone. Surely they'd realize he'd be back soon. And Littlefoot did want to talk to Rex about something. Yeah, a walk would do him some good. It would calm his nerves.

"All right, Rex. Let's go." He went by the flying sharptooth's side. "Just remember, we need to be back in a few minutes." He reminded his blue sharptooth pal.

Rex smiled maliciously, but Littlefoot didn't see it. "Oh I will. Don't you worry..."

Hiding among the trees stood Chomper. He watched as Rex started to lure Littlefoot away. As they left, Chomper couldn't help but stare at Rex and his form. "He does look good..." He shook himself, knowing he had to keep his mind on the mission. He couldn't be thinking about love right now! This was the worst time!

He looked in the direction where they had gone. He didn't know how far back the cave was. But he didn't need to worry about finding it. Once Littlefoot was taken care of, Rex would lead Chomper to the cave. Everything was going according to plan.

"He will be mine." Chomper whispered, and he started to follow Rex to make sure he didn't back down on his word. 


	38. The Cold Turn

(A/N Chapter 38... Only 22 more to go. Hopefully I'll update more often so it doesn't end up being several months before the story is finished.)

Part IV: The Betrayal

Yu muttered angrily to himself as he walked through the cave entrance. He didn't bother looking back to see Littlefoot and Rex walking away. He really didn't care now. "That stupid Littlefoot...not believing me...why! How could he fall for that...that creature's tricks!" In aggrivation, he clicked his sickle claw against the ground, the sound echoing in the cave.

Yu pressed his claws against the wall of the cave and scratched downward, creating squeaking sounds as claw grazed against solid rock. He looked at his newly sharpened claws as he entered a wide opening in the cave where he spotted a few dinosaurs: Ducky, Spike, Doc, Ali, and Petrie. Petrie must've escaped the raptors and came to the cave. As Yu walked closer, he realized there was another guest in the group. There was a figure laying on the ground that at first Yu did not recognize. But as he drew closer, Doc immediately got to his feet and Ali also got up, despite her pregnancy. She still hadn't left yet, for fear that her pregnancy would slow her down in battle, leaving her vulnerable.

Doc looked at Ali and said, "No, you stay down." His firm voice was enough for Ali, and she sat back down next to the other dinosaurs. Doc then walked over to the green velociraptor, looking a little tense. "What are you doing here, sharptooth?"

Yu looked up at the large sauropod, and smiled weakly. "I'm Yu, a friend of Littlefoot and his pals." He spotted Ali, and added, "Well most of his pals anyway." He chuckled, though he knew there wasn't anything funny going on. Doc didn't look like he particularly believed him, but Ducky stood up.

"He's telling the truth, yep yep yep." For the first time in hours, Ducky left her step brother's side temporary. "He is Yu. He does not want to hurt us, no no no." She gave a smile at Yu before looking at her brother sympathetically. Spike was still down, wound still not healed after the recent attack from Chomper. While his blood has stopped leaking from his scaly body, he's still weak. It would be suicide to let him go outside. All Spike can do now is conserve his energy as much as he can. Ducky walked back towards her brother and laid down next to him, and curled up as close as she could. As Yu watched, he could see a tear trinkling down the duckbill's face.

"What happened to him?" Yu asked, pointing towards the stegosaurus.

Doc still wasn't so sure about the sharptooth. But then he remembered Sandstorm, the sharptooth that deserted the army. Perhaps Yu is like him. He lowered his head down so he was about eye level with Yu. "Chomper attacked him. Spike was lucky to escape with his life."

Yu narrowed his eyes. "Chomper did this, eh?" He shook his head, eyes closed. "Figures. He'd be the one to do something like this."

"But maybe he isn't." Doc said, raising his neck up high. Yu looked up at him with a puzzled look. "Recently, Ducky had an interesting encounter with Chomper." He eyed the young duckbill. "She told us that it seemed like something was possessing Chomper. And if this is true..."

"...Then it means Rex is possessed as well." Yu said as-a-matter-of-factly.

This caught Doc by surprise. "Excuse me?"

"Rex is possessed as well, by some ancient spirit possibly." Yu lowered his gaze. "It's turned him into a fire-breathing monster, and he's leading Littlefoot away to kill him!"

"Are you sure you aren't..."

"NO!" Yu shouted angrily. "I am NOT imagining things! Littlefoot is putting himself in danger! If we don't do something soon..." He stopped talking, unable to say anymore.

"Me no see why you so worried." Petrie spoke from his spot. "Littlefoot just with Rex."

"But I..."

"Petrie's right." Doc said. "There's nothing to worry about. Littlefoot can take care of himself. I should know, because I'm..." But before he could finish his sentence, the figure in the corner rose to his feet.

"I wouldn't say there's nothing to worry about, Doc." He stated as he walked towards them. "After all, he- Yu?" He said, looking rather surprised to see the green raptor in the cave. "What are you doing here?"

"Sandstorm!" Yu nearly shrieked. "I should ask you the same thing!"

"Now now, calm down, both of you!" Doc instructed, putting his large foot in between the two sharpteeth to keep them from fighting each other. "Now, Sandstorm, what is it you were saying?" Yu growled as he waited for Sandstorm's reply.

"As I was saying..." He glared at Yu before continuing, "Rex's past life is a flamebreath, as you probably know already. If that flamebreath has taken control of him, then Rex has the fire-breathing powers. He could easily kill Littlefoot if he wanted." He stopped glaring, and focused his attention on the longneck. "If Yu is right, and Rex is working with Chomper now, then Littlefoot is definitely in big trouble."

"Yeah, but also from you." Yu commented, snorting at the tan sickleclaw.

"Don't you mean you, Yu?" Sandstorm snapped, hissing through his clenched teeth.

"I SAID STOP IT!" Doc shouted, starting to lose his patience as he stomped on the ground, causing the ground to shake a little. The two raptors immediately stopped their bickering and looked up almost fearfully at the towering diplodocus.

Littlefoot walked alongside Rex as the two ventured deep in the forest. Littlefoot felt nervous the further they went. They were going into a part of the valley he's never seen before. And if he had, it was a long time ago, like when he was a kid. Vines grew so long, wrapping around the tree, and some dangled so low they nearly touched the ground. A few small streams zig-zagged across the ground. Tiny leaves in trees huddled so closely they caused the branch to lower towards the ground. Some ferns seemed to fan out like a flyer opening his wingspan. A few small rats scampered across the ground and into their burrows.

"How far did you want to walk?" He finally asked after long moments of unbearable silence.

Rex turned his glance sideways, and for a brief moment, he spotted Chomper in the distance, watching them. Rex turned to his old friend, and grinned. "Just for a little while longer. Trust me, it's not too far."

"Sure, all right." But his voice held unsureness and nervousness. Littlefoot was beginning to wonder once again if Yu had been telling the truth. But he refused to believe the one whom he found as an egg would suddenly turn on him. But memories flooded back to him as he realized that Chomper was like that too, and he betrayed them. He gulped as he looked at Rex.

Rex stopped walking. "What is it you wanted to talk to me about?" He turned to the longneck, and folded his arms, and waited for the longneck to give him whatever answers he wanted.

Littlefoot stopped as well. "Well...I just wanted to know why you're acting like this."

Rex cocked an eyebrow. "Acting...like what?"

"Like that." He repeated almost sternly. "Ever since you returned, you have been acting a little weird, I gotta admit." He pawed the ground, pondering about things. "Your attitude is different...I mean before you were worried about your ancient half, and now you act as though you never knew about it." He shrugged. "And you never used to get so angry before, and you act so distant now...Why?"

The answer he had just given flabbergasted the dracovol. He couldn't really think of an answer, at least none that would make sense. He quickly surveyed his surroundings. They were in a remote enough part of the valley anyway. They needn't travel any further.

He raised his arms up in a threatening manner, and his lips curled back, exposing his razor sharp teeth. "Guess what Littlefoot? You should've listened to Yu..." He then let out a roar and as he did so his body changed. He grew larger, four of his teeth grew longer, his claws grew sharper, sharp spines rose from his back, and his wings ripped in several places.

Littlefoot was horrified by this sudden transformation. "Yu was right..." He gasped, panting. "He was right... You are a traitor!" He said accusingly, baring his own teeth at the transformed dracovol.

"Oh I wouldn't call it being a traitor..." Rex said tauntingly. "More like joining a bigger team."

"And there he goes." Chomper said in an almost proud manner, like a father. After the kill, he wanted to get closer to Rex. He couldn't shake these feelings he had for the dracovol. He watched the dracovol advance towards Littlefoot, claws extended for the kill. The carnotaurus felt his lips curl back in satisfaction. He knew the end was almost near. There was no way Littlefoot could defend against a dragon!

But something caught Chomper's eye. He shifted his gaze towards the sky, and could see a figure flying in their direction. His pupils dilated as he realized who it was. "Gorjak." He hissed. He must've escaped the ones who captured him. Chomper paid him no heed, but if he ruins his perfect plan, he would rip that flyer from limb to limb.

"Wait...he is not flying alone..." He whispered, eyes widened in shock.

There, in the distance, running under the sharptooth flyer, was an alimon... 


	39. Second Spy

Part IV: The Betrayal

"Oh no you don't..." Chomper whispered. He was feeling a bit horrified that Gorjak brought an alimon with him. Chomper thought that the alimons couldn't see them. He was taught a special spell by Slasher that would make him and his army invisible to the alimon's acute senses. Chomper knew very well about the alimon pack that guarded the valley and if they were alerted, the balance of power would surely shift. While there were evil alimons around, most of them that were in the valley had a strong sense of justice, and if anyone of them found out about his plans... Gorjak must've been a spy! Another spy just like Yu was. That would be why Gorjak is leading an alimon. He must've given the alimon a spell that neutralizes Chomper's own spell!

"I won't let you ruin this..." The carnotaurus charged forward, snapping his jaws angrily. "Things are going according to plan!" He ran through the brush and foliage, heading straight towards the flying sharptooth and his alimon accomplice. What he was doing was futile. Gorjak could just fly out of reach and the alimon could easily defeat him, no doubt about it. The alimon race was the only dinosaur species that Chomper feared, even with a large army pack to back him up.

The alimon noticed Chomper's charge, and immediately took action. It rose onto its hind legs and lunged its front limbs forward. It grasped onto Chomper's horns, and pulled him onto the ground, forcing the sharptooth to crash into the ground. The alimon squeezed the horns so tightly that they started to crack. This was an impressive feet, considering that Chomper was a 21 ft long one ton predator while this alimon was only around 200 pounds and a mere 12 ft long. Then again, all alimons possess seemingly unnatural strength, speed, and intelligence. Chomper shook himself free, knocking the alimon down onto its back. The blue meat-eating dinosaur quickly got onto his feet, and tried to stomp on the alimon.

"No!"

Gorjak, out of nowhere, flies directly at Chomper, and started pecking at his right eye. Chomper withdrew and immediately started clawing at Gorjak. The toothed flyer flew back, and high up, out of harm's way.

The alimon comprehended the moment for a while. The alimon was a female named Shuva. She was a grassy green with seagreen along her back, from the tip of her nose all the way to the tip of her tail. Her claws were a light blue in color. Her mane was a ligher shade of seagreen. She stood there, pondering if she should help Gorjak, or help the longneck, who was being attacked by a dragon/dinosaur hybrid of some sort, with a creepy glowing red eye. Shuva knew she didn't have long to decide. She finally decided that Gorjak, with his ability to fly, could handle Chomper on his own. She turned around and started walking calmly towards the longneck. A fight hadn't broken out yet, so she didn't have to hurry over. And she knew timing was everything. She couldn't afford to attack at the wrong time. She was too smart for that.

Shuva stopped, and looked behind her. "Good luck." She whispered, and turned full attention to Rex and Littlefoot.

"Why?" Littlefoot gritted his teeth. "Why would you betray us? After all we've been through?" Rex suddenly gave a cold-hearted laugh, his icy eyes gleaming. Littlefoot rose onto his hind legs, and plunged back down, the ground shaking as his heavy body smacked into the ground. "What's so darn funny!"

"You." Rex laughed, covering his mouth as though trying to supress the laughter. "Now doesn't this all seem so familiar, dear Littlefoot?" He sneered, fingering on his ridiculously long fangs. Littlefoot's eyes widen. "Isn't this exactly what Cera thought when I allegedly attacked her, hmm?" Littlefoot backed away, eyes narrowed to slits. Rex opened up his wings, exposing all the grisley tears in the wing membrane. "Same thing happening here...except this time..." He hunched forward and extended out his hands, moving his claws threateningly. "...I really am a 'traitor'..."

Suddenly he charged forward, opening his mouth very wide. Littlefoot braced himself, concentrating on every movement the dracovol was making. Rex seemed to be reckless. He was just going straight without any strategizing, Littlefoot thought. Any experienced sharptooth knows you can't just charge into prey head on. You need a strategy, a plan. But Rex had just charged forward without even thinking, and this was his first mistake. Littlefoot turned to the side, and whacked Rex with his long whiplike tail. The dracovol cried in surprise as the tail smacked him into the cold Earth beneath his feet, and he scrambled across the floor. He looked up at the longneck, and hissed. He opened up his wings, and took the skies.

Littlefoot gulped, eyes wide with fear. He didn't forget about Rex's flying ability. But seeing all those lacerations in the wing membrane, he thought that the dracovol couldn't fly anymore. But this theory was proven incorrect when the dracovol, shredded wings and all, flew 20 feet into the sky, and still rose higher. He backed up a few inches, and craned his neck up as far as he could, trying to keep the dracovol in his sights. Soon, Rex disappeared completely into the sky. Littlefoot couldn't see him anywhere. Littlefoot started shaking slightly. Rex could be right behind him, and he wouldn't know it!

As Littlefoot scanned the skies for his former best friend, behind him, the dracovol, red eye gleaming, came swooping in. He extending out both his feet and his hands, claws poised for the kill. He snarled, lips curving into a twisted smile. "You are mine." He spoke, loud enough for Littlefoot to hear him. The longneck twisted his neck around and screamed when he saw a shower of claws heading straight for him! Thinking fast, he dropped himself to the ground at the last second, winced as he felt the tips of the claws leave small cuts along his back and neck. Rex flew back into the skies, slowly turned around, and dove for Littlefoot again. Only about a second later, Rex opened up his jaws once more, but this time they weren't poised for a bite. Littlefoot's eyes widened in sheer horror as a fiery glow illuminated Rex's mouth, and in a blink of an eye, a fireball was hurdled down towards the young longneck!

Littlefoot's pupils shined with the bright lights of the fire as his eyes widened in fear, watching the flames getting closer and closer. He knew he coudln't dodge this, not fast enough anyway. Being a large sauropod, he wouldn't be able to move fast enough to escape the red hot flames of the fireball, and all it would take to have himself burned alive is just a little fire touching his highly flammable skin.

Rex watched, smiling coldly as the flames drew closer to the longneck he once called a friend. "This is the end, amigo!" He shouted a few seconds before the fireball would smack into Littlefoot's face and burn him.

Shuva couldn't take it anymore! She stopped walking and started sprinting at incredible speeds towards the longneck. "My kind failed to protect you leaf-eaters before." She cried as she closed in on the young longneck. "But not this time..."

With that, the green alimon leapt into the air, her front paws facing foward. Rex narrowed his eyes in anger as the powerful alimon knocked Littlefoot aside, and the flames that shot forward barely missed the tip of the alimon's long tail. The two crashed into the ground, and Shuva was sprawled across Littlefoot's wide ribcage. It took them a few seconds to comprehend what had just happened. Littlefoot opened his eyes and craned his neck to see a longneck-like sharptooth laying on him. Before he could say anything, Shuva looked over towards him, her red eyes boring into his.

"Are you all right?"

Loc growled angrily at himself. How could he have been so stupid? How could he have let the little spy get away? Gorjak had him fooled. Gorjak was a master at masking his true intentions. The red horned sharptooth walked alone towards the path where the other sharpteeth were hiding. At least the ones that survived, that is. There were still a whole lot of them. Loc picked up a familiar scent, and recognized a few raptors, including Blueye, Red, and Jade. Only Sandstorm had left them. Red had convinced the other velociraptors not to leave, and to continue to fight. Loc couldn't help but smile.

"It is only a minor setback." He told himself. "We are still a huge army."

Loc then got flashbacks of Gorjak again. He snarled angrily as his brain replayed the scene where the flyer had tricked the bellydragger and sharpbeak into a trap. He shook his head. He didn't know if Dil or Ichy survived, and he didn't really care that much either. He wasn't exactly good friends with them. He figured that if they were alive, they'd come crawling back, and for falling into another trap, Loc noted that Chomper may not be easy on them this time around...

Back inside the cave, Ali watched as Yu and Sandstorm starting bickering at each other. She couldn't hear too much of what was going on. She was further away than Ducky and Spike were. She was still a bit fearful of the green velociraptor. Then again, she was still afraid of Sandstorm as well. The old sharptooth hadn't fully recovered, and she feared the day that he would.

Suddenly she felt pressure building up inside her, and she couldn't surprise it. She moaned loudly, her back legs feeling weak. She knew it was time. "The egg...it's coming." 


	40. Deadly Like the Dark

Part IV: The Betrayal

Littlefoot looked flabbergasted. He had a 12 foot long carnivore on his back, in a spot he couldn't reach. She could easily bite into him, and tear out his skin, and she was asking him if he was all right? He couldn't get a real good look at her, no matter how far he pulled his neck back. Shuva jumped off of him, and walked into view. She stared up at the longneck. Even though he wasn't fully grown, Littlefoot was easily twice her size. The longneck stared down at the alimon, and realized what she was. "You're...an alimon?" He whispered, his eyes widening with surprise.

The small creature smiled softly, despite the situation that they were in. "Yes...yes I am." She admitted, with a hint of guilt in her voice. "Sorry I'm so late."

"Late? Late!" Littlefoot shouted. "You're far from a little late! Do you know how much suffering I had to go through before you finally decided to show!" Shuva winced, and backed away. "And when you alimons finally decide to help, only you come!" He bared his teeth. "You just wanted us to suffer! Didn't you? Didn't you! You just wanted to wait until the worst of times to finally decide to help!"

Shuva let out a soft whimper, knowing the apatosaurus spoke the truth. Well it wasn't all true anyway. She remembered she was an alimon. Her whimper turned into a growl. She didn't need to take this from anyone, especially not some plant-eater she could easily have for lunch!

Her tail raising up straight into the air and her lips pulled back enough to reveal her gums lined with long sharp teeth, she shouted, "What makes you think that! We made a deal with the valley! We protected it for years, you stupid longneck!" She reared up on her hind legs to make her appear larger than she really was. "Chomper put a spell on us! He made it so we couldn't be aware of what was happening! Magic blinded us!"

Littlefoot backed away, some of his anger melting into shock. "Magic...? So...he was right... Magic does exist..." He looked at the alimon, his eyes still slightly narrowed. "But if he put a spell on your kind, why are you not in its grasp?" He asked in an accusatory tone of voice.

"Gorjak. He found a counterspell. Only enough for one. He chose me. My name is Shuva." She lowered herself to the ground, feeling her own hostility fading away, her heart rate returning to normal.

"Excuse me!" Rex yelled. "What in the world do you think you are doing, alimon!" He lowered himself to the ground, his clawed feet digging into the earth. Rex folded his wings against his side, and pointed a clawed finger at the new dinosaur. "You aren't supposed to know about this!" His tongue snaked across one of his long fangs. "How can you possibly..." Suddenly the alimon sprang forward, colliding with the dragon and forcing him onto his back.

"I'd like to ask you the same thing!" She pressed her snout against his. "You were his friend! I saw you when you were younger! I saw you playing together! You saved his life from that velociraptor!" Littlefoot and Rex's eyes both were open in shock and astonisment. "Why would you betray him!"

Rex couldn't comprehend how this alimon could've known about his previous friendship with Littlefoot, or how she knew about Zill, the velociraptor whom he had killed years ago. He smiled as the memory flooded back. It was the first kill he ever made, and he loved every minute of it. He loved Zill's expression as he tore into him. He loved Bull's reaction when he ripped out the internal organs of Zill. He loved Zill's expression after he was dead, that horror-stricken look. He grinned. "Like I told him before, I'm just working for a bigger team now."

He spread his wings wide. "Perhaps I should make you both suffer the same fate I gave to Zill." He knocked off Shuva with one of his paws, and pulled himself off the ground. He launched himself into the sky, hoping to divebomb one of them, and rip out their flesh with his enormous teeth. But his plan backfired. Shuva jumped up and sank her teeth into one of Rex's wings. Pain flowed through Rex's body as the immensly sharp teeth began to tear his wing membrane. He used his long tail to whip her in the eye, the only vulnerable spot on Shuva that he could see.

Shuva shrieked, releasing her grip on the dracovol's wing. She crashed into the ground, onto her back. Quickly, despite the bleeding coming from his torn wing, the dracovol dove down, his claws extended far enough to cut into the alimon's skin. Littlefoot rushed forward as fast as he could, and used his head to slam into the dragon-possessed dinosaur's stomach, knocking him offbalance and hurtling away from the crashed alimon.

Rex quickly righted himself up, and landed back on the ground. "So you both have fight in you." He said, his red eye glistening with interest. "So this won't be a dull fight after all..." He lunged forward again, letting out a loud roar, and Shuva and Littlefoot could both see the flames raging forward, getting ready to be spat out and burn them alive.

Loc walked inside the cave where the other sharpteeth were hiding out. Some of the sharpteeth were hanging out outside. They hadn't seen any signs of plant-eaters, and since they were in such a remote part of the valley, why would they need to hide? Blueye was the first to notice Loc, and she ran to greet him.

"Loc, good to see you are still alive." She addressed, bobbing her head up and down. Loc hadn't suffered any bad injuries as far as she could tell. She was beginning to worry about Chomper. She hadn't seen him for a while. What could he be doing right now?

"At least a good lot of us lived." He said softly. "We can still counterattack. They are weak. They are few."

"Say, Loc, you haven't by any chance seen General Chomper, have you?" The pale yellow raptor tilted her head. "I haven't seen him for a while."

The red sharptooth smirked. "He's out somewhere. He's putting another plan in motion. Don't worry about him."

Just then another sharptooth approached. Loc turned his head to see Red approaching them. The dark crimson raptor looked angry about something. "I just recieved news that the traitorous Sandstorm survived our brutal assault." Loc narrowed his eyes, but not in anger, but in confusion. "I thought for sure we finished him off! We should've been more thorough... If he is with those plant-eaters, then they have inside information, OUR inside information."

"I wouldn't worry about it." Loc spoke with a malice tone close to that of Chomper's. "He's an old veteran. He'll be gone before you know it."

"YOU WERE A SPY!" Chomper roared furiously as he tried to snag the flyer from the sky with his jaws. Gorjak just flew up higher, almost laughing as the horned sharptooth tried to swat him with his hand claws. "WASN'T ANYONE THERE ACTUALLY THERE TO LEARN!"

Gorjak narrowed his eyes. "I learned plenty. I learned that what you and your sick father were and are doing is against the laws of nature! I learned of what you do to innocent dinosaurs that you capture!" He landed up in the nearest tree. "I learned how to fake my own cruelty to blend in with your kind. I learned I had to do something to save this valley. I didn't like doing the things I did, but it was well worth it. I fooled you. Oh I fooled you all." He couldn't help but deliver a good laugh at that.

Chomper growled and headbutted the tree, causing it to shake. Gorjak said, "Whoa...whoa...whoa..." He took flight just before the tree was ripped from its roots and fell to the forest floor.

"Ali, calm down. Let it come out slowly." Ducky said, her voice soothing to Ali's mind as she struggled to get this egg-laying thing business underway. Ducky stroked Ali's head, trying to calm her mind as the agonizing pain of egg-laying filled her mind. The female longneck's face was stained with tears.

Yu and Sandstorm stood close by, but apart from each other. They watched and waited for the new life to come out. Once the egg would come out, they knew they'd have to protect this cave even better than before. The young dinosaur inside would be vulnerable for a long time, and it's even more vulnerable inside the egg. They listened to Ali's groans, whines, and whimpers as she struggled with the pain and the pressure.

Doc also stood close. He knew nothing of what to do. All he could do was stare sympathetically at Ali's tear-stained face. "Hang in tough there, kid." He spoke softly, his eyes softening with worry.

Finally the female longneck gave out a huge sigh of relief. "It's out." She turned her neck to see the newly laid egg. It lay nestled in the small nest Ducky had made to help keep it warm. The egg was pure white, just like Littlefoot's own egg was, except for a couple spots on one side of it. Ali didn't think much of it, but Sandstorm's eyes widened a little. The spots meant something. Unbenownst to the new mother Ali, the spots were a warning...

"So...it's finally coming to pass." He murmured sadly. 


	41. Treading Down a Dangerous Path

Part V: The Curse

A few hours later, almost everyone in the cave was sleeping. They all felt very tired, especially Ali. After delivering an egg, she was all worn out, and she lay down, slightly curled, beside the nest that held her precious egg. The spotted shell was leaning to one side, and the spots had a slight glow to them. The only one who remained awake was Sandstorm. The old raptor cautiously approached the egg, and lowered his snout. He pressed his nose against it, feeling the cool shell against his sensitive skin. It was smooth, not bumpy, but when he nuzzled the spotted side, it appears that the spots were raised.

He lifted up his head, his light red eyes narrowed with concern and worry. This wasn't any ordinary longneck egg, that was for sure. When he was young, he stole many longneck eggs, and none of them felt or looked quite like this. He sniffed a few times. It even smelled different. The smell of a longneck egg should be a little sweet with a tinge of earthy scent, but this...this smelled more like a recently made kill. Ali would not have noticed this. Longnecks don't have good sense of smell, and neither did duckbills. He frowned. What was he going to do? He couldn't just tell Ali that she should get rid of her first egg, but if he didn't, whatever was hiding in the egg...it could be a threat to them all.

He lowered his head down again, and ran his long curved claws against the egg's shell. It was tough, but if he applied enough pressure he could crack it. He decided not to. What would the others think if they woke up and discover the egg is cracked? With his hands scented with the egg's yolk, no doubt Yu would notice it was him who did it. Reluctantly, he moved away from the egg. He closed his eyes, deep in thought. He kept thinking of one reason why the egg was probably spotted. But he wasn't sure if that could be possible. The creature was mythical! Then again, so were the flame-breaths, and yet he somehow felt the heat of dragon fire, even from far away. So if the dragon existed, so could this creature.

Sandstorm thought about it. This could be the work of Chomper. He could've done something to Ali to impregnant her with a monster. He stared long and hard at the spotted egg, getting more and more tense, and wanting more and more to smash it. Then he thought he saw the egg move. Startled he backed away, only to bump into someone. Whirling around, he faced the person he backed up into.

"Yu!" Sandstorm cried, surprised. He lifted his tail high. "What are you doing up?"

Yu climbed to his feet and wiped off the dust off his sides. "Funny, I could ask you the same thing, Officer..." He spat, voice tinged with anger. "Just what were you thinking of doing with Ali's egg?"

Sandstorm shook his head. "Nothing. I was just thinking..."

"...have how to eat it?" Yu finished for him, a dark smirk on his face.

Sandstorm growled. "Of course not! It's just that..." His voice faded away, and he closed his eyes.

Yu rolled his eyes. "Just that what, huh?" He crossed his arms, waiting for an explaination.

"I'm not sure why you would want to know, Yu." Sandstorm hissed angrily. "You are one of Chomper's top young soldiers. Why would you even think of showing your face here?" He advanced forward. "What is your plan, Yu? To decieve this young ones and attack while they are sleeping? Is that why you were awake just now! Were you going to attack them!" He said in an accusing voice, pointing a finger at the green velociraptor.

Yu's eyes widened, and his lips curled back in anger. "What the heck are you talking about, you stupid veteran!" He screeched, raising up his claws threateningly. "Didn't you know! I was a spy!" He advanced forward as well. "I broke into Chomper's ranks in order to gain his trust! I was getting information! Chomper found out I was a spy and went after me! I escaped! If I betrayed him, why in the world you think I would ever ever EVER consider attacking these dinosaurs!" He was so close now that Sandstorm could feel the younger raptor's breath against his face. "These leaf-eaters happen to be my friends!"

Sandstorm backed away in surprise. But Yu wasn't done just yet. The blue-striped sickleclaw grabbed the old veteran by his arm. "You were with Chomper a lot longer than I was, old one! You are among his most trusted sickleclaw pack! You were one of the most loyal of them all, and probably still are! You are the one who is a threat here, not me! I don't know why these guys are letting you stay!" He bared his teeth. "You would just kill us all when we slept! You were going to steal Ali's egg and smash it open! You were going to kill Spike if Ducky wasn't there!"

Sandstorm felt his heart beating faster as anger swept through his body. He grabbed the young raptor's arm and threw him hard into the ground. Yu looked up in surprise and fear as Sandstorm pinned him to the ground. "Don't ever say things like that unless you have evidence, stupid kid!" Now it was his turn to bare his own sharp teeth. "I admit I was part of the pack, but things changed! I knew where this war was going! I knew many innocent lives would've been lost if we didn't leave the war! I tried to convince the others, but Red convinced them that I was a traitor! They attacked me, nearly ripped me apart! They abandoned me, left me to die!" He narrowed his eyes. "If it weren't for these leaf-eaters spotting me and helping me out, I would have died! Do you really think I would turn against the ones who saved me!"

Yu opened his mouth to speak, but he quickly shut it. He was at a loss of words. A sense of guilt began building in his heart. The old raptor's expression softened quickly, and he got up off the younger raptor. He looked down at the young velociraptor as he struggled to his feet and regain his balance. Yu then managed to say, "I-I-I'm sorry. I didn't know..."

Now it was Sandstorm's turn to feel guilty. "And I'm sorry too. I didn't know you were a spy." He then offered a small grin. "Must've been fun, deceiving Chomper like that."

Yu managed a weak smile as he rubbed his sore arm. "Y-Yeah fun..." He turned his head towards the egg in the nest next to Ali. "So if you weren't going to eat it...why were you staring at it for so long? Does it have a strange smell or something."

Sandstorm nodded. "Yes, it does not smell like any egg I've ever encountered before."

Curious, Yu walked cautiously towards the egg, and pressed his nose against it. He breathed in deeply, and almost immediately, he coughed and packed away quickly. "Whoa! You're right! That smells like a kill, not a baby longneck's egg!" He rubbed his nose, trying to get rid of the scent. He then turned his head to face the old sickleclaw officer. "What do you think it is?"

"I don't know." He said solemnly. "But whatever it is, it can't be good." He stared at the egg, a frown returning to his face. "Whatever hatches out of that egg...may end up destroying us all!"

The two raptors turned their backs to the egg, unable to look at it anymore. They decided to walk to the other side of the cave and sleep there. As they left, Ali, still asleep, twitched her tail, and it gently hit the egg lightly. The egg rattled back and forth silently, and then it slowly stopped. It stood there for several minutes, and then, on its own, the egg shifted to one side, almost as if it was trying to look at its mother. Then, without warning, two circles of red light glowed near the top of the egg, and narrowed slightly, as if it were angry. And from within the egg, a low hissing sound, sounding like a cross between a rattle snake and a bird, came through... 


	42. Unknown Side

(Author's note: Yet another two week's wait before I bothered to update. oo; That's what I get for not getting on the computer first thing in the morning. :sigh: )

Part V: The Curse

General Chomper came to a stop, and fell to his knees. He had been chasing Gorjak for what seemed like hours now. It was clear that there was no way he'd be able to catch up with him. Gorjak was a flyer, and he was not. The second spy was already seemingly disappearing into the skies, and Chomper growled visibly, showing his frustration and anger. "He could be the reason why..." He didn't want to say anything further. He turned around and started heading back, remembering he had to make sure Rex did his work.

Rex... the thought of that dinosaur coming to his mind soothed the raging beast. Chomper didn't know why, but Rex just seemed to have what it takes to calm him down and make him feel happy. The sharptooth thought of spending a little time alone with the dracovol after his succession of wiping out Littlefoot, sort of a victory party for two type of deal. He closed his eyes and smiled deeply with the thought.

Unfortunately he wasn't looking where he was going and quickly found himself slamming into a tree, nearly knocking it down. He cried out in pain, and rubbed his sore snout the best he could with his short arms. He shook his head and growled at the tree. For a brief second, he could see the ghostly image of Cera, jeering at him. Chomper's eyes darkened with hatred and opened his jaws, showing off his teeth. Then suddenly Cera changed...changed dramatically. In her place stood a flame breath, but not like the one Rex had seen in his reflection. But it was still a flame breath. The new flame breath glared at Chomper, and spewed out flames.

Chomper cried out and put his arms out in front of him, but nothing happened. He slowly opened his eyes and looked back. The ghostly image he saw in the tree disappeared. The horned meat-eater looked confused. He had seen, for himself, the flames jetting past him. They should have burned him! And yet he didn't have a scratch on him.

"Oh right..." He murmured softly to himself. "It was just something from my imagination...How silly of me." He smiled softly, and walked past the tree. He didn't notice the image of the flame breath, possibly being Cera, turning her head and glaring at him with those glowing eyes.

As Rex spewed out another fireball, the alimon dodged quickly, barely escaping its fiery hot touch. Littlefoot was not as lucky, as he felt some of the flames strike him in the shoulder. Littlefoot screamed with all his might as the flames licked against his scales, burning them upon contact. When the fire died down, only a few seconds later, an entire section of his neck and shoulder had scales that were charred badly, a few flaking off. The stench of burnt food wavered in the air, tempting Rex as he sniffed the burning scales from where he was standing.

Littlefoot tried to walk, but the fire had did damage not only to his scales, but to some of his muscle. He could feel steaming hot pain in his shoulder muscles as he flexed them to move his leg. He tried taking another step, but the pain from one shot of the fireball proved too much for the teenaged longneck, and he collapsed on the ground, weakened. Tears flowed from his eyes as memories of him seeing his adopted brother, laying on the ground dying, came back to him. And he knew that it would soon be his turn, as he watched Rex slowly advance towards him, clawed hands raised in the air.

"How could you...do this...?" He pleaded, and closed his eyes as the pain in his shoulder overwhelmed him. "How could do this...to your...best friend...?" His mind was starting to become clouded with the intense pain. "And after...all we've been through...after...Bull..." His brain couldn't take any more pain any longer, and Littlefoot felt his mind shut down, and his eyes closed.

Rex stopped in his tracks. "Bull..." He said in a harsh whisper. His eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open, almost as if in shock. Before Shuva could tackle him, she is thrown back when a burst of light surrounded Rex for a brief second. She screamed and covered her sensitive eyes.

"WHAT IS GOING ON!" She screamed as she watched the illuminating light show. After it was over, Rex collapsed on the floor, breathing normally, but his expression troubled. He was still in his dragon/dinosaur half form. She didn't have time to analyse him. She would have to carry Littlefoot back to safety. She didn't know just where he had come from. She couldn't risk taking him back to his friends. He would have to come with her.

Shuva walked over to the unconscious longneck, and grabbed a hold of his long tail. She started to pull. Despite size differences, the alimon managed to drag Littlefoot quite easily across the floor. She hoped that all this dragging wasn't making his wound any worse that it already was. She would have to take him back where the remaining part of her pack was waiting for her. This would mean dragging him UP the mountain chain that surrounded the valley until they reached the right cave. She was worried Littlefoot wouldn't make it. The wound is small compared to what it could have been, but severe damage was already done. If infection set in, the longneck could die.

"I must hurry..." She thought, straining to pull the tremendous animal. "I must hurry..."

As she left, Rex squeezed his eyes shut, and whimpered slightly. "No...you're not me..." He tossed and turned in his sleep, his hands and feet twitching and his body shaking involuntarily, clear signs he was having a nightmare. But for Rex, this was more than a nightmare...it was his life.

"What do you mean...?" Ali asked, whimpering silently as Yu and Sandstorm told her the story. She was nestled next to her egg. She couldn't detect anything wrong with it. She thought the spots were there because her child would be unique, but was it really going to be THAT unique? She stared longingly and hauntingly at her egg, a few tears escaping her eyelids.

"What I mean is," Sandstorm said, his head bowed with sadness. "..that egg, I feel, will only bring us misery if it hatches. It's not a natural egg, Ali. It does not have the scent of a longneck."

"He's right." Yu nodded, stepping up. "There's something seriously wrong with that egg. But we don't know yet just what. Sandstorm and I suspect that something, another than a longneck, is residing inside, and it's nothing but trouble!"

Petrie rolled his eyes. "Me thinks you two just crazy! Maybe you had nightmares and think this is real." He suggested, looking upwards as he thinks about his opinions on this situation. He was nearly taken by surprise when Yu snapped at him. "Watch it!" Petrie growled angrily.

"Sorry, Petrie." Yu said almost sarcastically. "But this is no dream!"

"Then what you suggest we do?" Petrie asked slowly, his eyes proving he was still disbelieving.

"We destroy the egg." Sandstorm said, his eyes narrowed with seriousness.

"WHAT!" A voice boomed through the caverns of a cave hidden deep in the valley mountain chains. It was nowhere near where Shuva was heading. Four-legged figures, all hidden in the darkness, were gathered in a circle near the entrance. The one who spoke seemed to stand near 8 ft tall and his teeth seemed to glow in the light from outside. The other figures seemed to be cringing from his loud voice.

One of the figures raised his head up. "With all due respect sir...we didn't know something like this would..."

"SILENCE!" The lead figure slammed his paw into the ground, so hard that it created a crater in the shape of a paw. "I will have none of your excuses! I want results!" He turned to look outside the cave, and glared longingly at the valley below him. He could feel his mouth water as he imagined all those dinosaurs down there. "I wanted a plan that would work, a plan that was flawless.." He turned around, his gleaming red eyes boring through his followers. "..but you sorry group, nothing but failure!"

"But we managed to start the..." He was stopped short when the lead figure swatted him down.

"I don't care! I want perfection!" He screamed hatefully. The figure cringed and slinked away and sat down beside the other followers. Then, another figure, about the same size as the leader, walked bravely towards him, showing no visible signs of fear.

"Sir, I got word that our little 'package' arrived among the plant eaters." Light shining in revealed the figure was grinning, his razor sharp teeth exposed.

"Then let the show begin..." The lead figure grinned, and from within the cave, there was a faint orange glow. Only Gorjak saw it. As the light died down, he could only stare in awe.

"What was that...?" He asked himself as he perched on a tree he just came across. "An orange light...?" His eyes then widened in fear. "Oh no...this could only be the work of the rogue pack, the Darkarians..." He whispered, and as he did so, the haunting howl of a mysterious and deadly predator filled the still air. 


	43. Tunnels

Part V: The Curse

"What! Destroy my egg!" Ali rose to her feet, looking rather furious. She glared at the raptor standing before her. She placed a protective leg in front of the egg. "What gives you the right!"

Sandstorm's light red eyes looked into her blue eyes. "It's for the good of the valley, maybe even the whole world, Ali." He lowered his gaze, almost as if ashamed. "I'm not happy about it either, but it's the only way." He looked at the egg, eyes blazed with suspicion and anger. "But it's just far too dangerous to let that egg hatch and let out who knows what from it."

The female longneck continued to glare at him. Maternal instinct was clouding her judgement. Despite knowing the danger, she refused to let her egg be destroyed until it was hatching day. She would protect the egg for the next few weeks, as it usually takes for the embryo to fully develop and emerge into the outside world. She wasn't about to let some sharptooth destroy her own egg just because he thinks it's cursed! "I don't care what you say." She stepped forward, pushing her face up against the small sharptooth. "I am not letting you destroy that egg!"

"Ali!" Sandstorm said quickly. "Be reasonable!"

"No, YOU be reasonable!" Ali growled. "There's probably just some innocent little baby in there! I'm not going to let it be destroyed by a superstition old coot like you!"

"Ali!" This time it came from Yu. "Listen to him! We can't have that egg around here! We must dispose of it!"

"NO!" Ali roared, settled down protectively in front of the egg. "Littlefoot and I made this egg together, and I plan seeing it hatch! I want to see the baby longneck inside!" She gently nuzzled the egg, feeling the smoothness of its shell against her scaly face. When Yu and Sandstorm took a step closer, they were taken aback by Ali snapping at them swiftly, and returning to her egg. The two raptors were dumbfounded, staring at each other, as if asking 'what are we going to do now?'

"See? Told you there be nothing to worry about." Petrie said, smiling almost slyly. "If Ali no worry, we should no worry neither."

"That's either, you dolt..." Sandstorm murmured under his breath, glaring at the plant-eating flyer. "And I'm telling you, we do have something to worry about." He eyed the egg again before looking back at Petrie. "That egg...something is indeed wrong with it. It's just not normal..."

"You sharpteeth have better sense of smell than we do." Petrie explained. "Perhaps you just picking up scents we can't." He shrugged his shoulders, smiling, as if he knew this was the truth.

Ducky nodded in agreement, laying next to her still recovering brother. "There's no need to worry then. Ali's right. You are getting worked up over nothing, yep yep yep." She smiled as she finished her trademark yep yep yep. She stroked her brother's head as his eyes opened up. He lifted up his head and looked at Sandstorm and Yu, eyes barely focused.

"Messa think you right..." He took in a breath shakingly. "Maybe dat egg something wrong."

Ducky looked at her brother, surprised. "You believe them, Spike?" Her brother gave a nod. "But why?" She tilted her head. "Why do you think they are right about the egg being evil?"

"B-Because..messa can smell something no right about egg, too."

"Okay, we're almost there." Shuva said, smiling with confidence. She continued dragging the longneck closer and closer to her pack's home cave tunnel network. He would be save in there, and the new cave tunnels were large enough for him to fit inside and walk around with no problems. She forgotten why they decided to make the tunnels bigger. Maybe it was to allow more alimons to live there. After all there has been a population boost in the past few years.

As soon as she got to the entrance, she nudged her head against the longneck's face, an attempt to awaken him. "Come on, get up." She whispered softly. The longneck didn't respond right away. Frustrated, Shuva pushed on his head harder, causing his head to hit the ground a little hard after Shuva moved her muzzle away.

"Ow!" Littlefoot muttered, awaking slowly, his eyes blinking in the darkness. "Shuva?" He shook his head groggily. "W-Where are we?" He lifted up his neck to take a better look, but immediately cried out in pain.

"Try to take it easy, young longneck." Shuva said soothingly. "I must take you inside for your treatment. That is a nasty burn you have on your neck."

Littlefoot struggled to his feet, careful not to inflict any more pain to his already incredibly sensitive burn spots. As Shuva led him inside the cave, it almost instantly brought back memories. When he was younger, he recalled exploring these caves. "Just like the old days." He thought to himself as Shuva led him down into a deeper part of the cave. He had to bend his neck down when the height of the cave suddenly dropped to about half it was before. Shuva could handle it no problem, but Littlefoot had a feeling his neck muscles were going to be sore in the morning if he stays down here too long.

When the tunnel finally ended, the roof dramatically rose back up to where it was before, much to the relief of the young longneck, who raised his head back up to where he's used to it being. He took a look around. This place was massive! It was much larger than he had remembered it. Then again he's never been to this part of the caves before. There were several holes in the cave walls, black as emptiness.

Shuva stepped up on a platform that was in front of them. She turned to Littlefoot and gestured for him to sit down. As he did so, the alimon sucked in as much breath as she could, and she let out a huge, loud howling sound.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The howl echoed throughout the cave, bouncing inside the tunnels, sending its message to other parts of the cave. The echoing continued for several minutes, and Littlefoot was shaking his head from the intensity of the sound that just came from the small Shuva.

No sooner had she done this, the tunnels stirred to life. Several alimons began emerging out of them. Some looked a bit annoyed, others looked curious. Some looked groggy, others looked very much alert. Some were small, and some were large. Some were young, and some were old. They all came gathering in the large opening that Littlefoot was now residing in. Every alimons' eyes were set on him and Shuva.

And, emerging last, was the lead alimon. The others departing, making a path for him. They bowed their heads in respect for him. The alimon came up to Shuva. He was middle-aged at least. His eyes were surrounded in rings of brown, the same color as his paws and tip of his tail. His entire body was dark blue. He smiled, but his yellow eyes still head the look of seriousness. "Welcome back, Shuva."

The female alimon bowed her head to her leader. "I am happy to be back, Siria." 


	44. Resistance and Flashbacks

(A/N: Please note that the first part of the chapter with Rex takes place in the dinosaur's mind.)

Part V: The Curse

Rex, the real Rex, awoke to find himself inside a large cave with a few holes. There was some light, but for the most part, the whole area was nearly pitch black. Rex had good vision, but he still had some trouble seeing at night. He squinted, trying to determine the size and shape of any obstacles that were in his way. But when he tried to walk forward, he found that his arms and legs would not move. Try as he might, they would not budge. They were stuck to the wall itself. "What is going on here?" He cried out, panicking. "Why can't I move?"

"Well well well...isn't it obvious?" Answered a cold, strange and yet familiar voice. "Your arms and legs are strapped to the wall, my boy." He held out a hand, which was just a shadow with tiny white dots to Rex's eyes. "Here, take a look for yourself." With a wave of the hand, a single flame was born, floating just above the creature's palm. The fire was small but bright enough to light up the cave enough for Rex to not only see the vines binding him, but see the faint glimmer of his captor's face.

"You! But it's not possible!" He struggled against his binds. "You can't be real!"

The figure stepped closer. The single red eye glowed as the creature laughed cold-heartedly. "But of course I'm real. Remember...I'm you."

"You are not me! You will never be me!" Rex shouted in protest. Dark Rex came forward, and cupped the seemingly younger dinosaur's chin. Rex tried to look at him defiently in the eyes, but those eyes...he just couldn't bare keeping eye contact with him, and kept turning his head away, trying to shake free of the grasp.

"Oh, I'm sorry...am I scaring you?" Dark Rex asked tauntingly. "I am in control of you now. You know what the best part is, my boy?"

Rex looked at him, a little curious.

"After all this is over, they will blame you." He pointed a finger at Rex. "After all, who am I but you yourself?"

"Well if you are me, they'll blame you!" Rex yelled. "You have the appearance of the attacker, not me!" Rex didn't think that made much sense, but he wasn't thinking clearly.

Dark Rex laughed at his comment. "Oh you really think so, do you?" He grinned. "They don't see me as an individual, Rex. They only see me as an extention, a part of you that you let loose onto this world. As far as they are concerned, you are the true mastermind behind all this flamebreath stuff."

Rex's eyes widened, and they slowly closed. He hung his head, and sighed. He knew Dark Rex was right about all that. After this was over, Dark Rex would disappear as if he never existed, and there would be no way for Rex to prove his innocense. Even Littlefoot would think twice before trusting him again, after he--no, after how Dark Rex almost killed Littlefoot today.

Dark Rex leaned in closer, and put his hand on Rex's head. The dracovol looked up, still a glint of defience in them. "As long as you are tied there, your body is mine to control."

Rex bared his sharp teeth. "Then I will have to fight for control..."

"What took you so long?" The chief alimon asked, narrowing his eyes slightly. He wasn't angry, but he was concerned. "We thought you were caught in a rockslide or something."

Shuva chuckled, though the lead alimon saw no humor in it. "I was busy saving the life of this longneck." She gestured her head towards Littlefoot. "He was being attacked by a flamebreath."

Upon this word, there was a murmur and stirring among the pack. Even the chief alimon was speechless. Finally, someone from the group said, "No that can't be right. If there was a flamebreath, we would know about it."

"Not unless a spell was put on you." Littlefoot said, causing all alimons to turn their heads to him. Littlefoot immediately regretted speaking up, and bowed his head. "I'm sorry."

"No, don't be sorry." Shuva said, serious. "He's right. A spell has been put upon us. I was fortunate to have a flyer find a counterspell for me."

The chief alimon cocked an eyegrow in suspicion. "Oh really? And if you are right...what has been going on that we are apparently unaware of?"

Shuva responded, "Sharpteeth have invaded the valley and have taken the lives of many dinosaurs!"

A murmur spread throughout the whole alimon pack. But as they continued discussing things, Littlefoot let his mind wander as he looked around the caves and tunnels. His mind was flooded with memories. He has been here before, he knows it. He remembers this very room...of course it was a lot scarier when he was a kid. He continued staring into space as the alimons discussed their plans.

He recalled how he and his friends had heard noises coming from this cave. Despite their parents' warnings, they went into the cave tunnels anyway. They came into here where they were suddenly surrounded by a pack of vicious and malicious alimons. The alimons taunted them, teased them, walked around them like a shark ready to strike. Littlefoot recalled how he and his friends barely escaped, and how he almost had his throat torn out, but was saved by Cera.

He sighed. 'At least things aren't as bad as they were back then.' He watched as the alimons debated on the situation.

He then had another memory. Not long after they escaped the first group of alimons, there was yet another. And they apparently belonged to the same pack that attacked them originally. He could tell because they were baring their teeth at them. Cera wanted to attack, but Littlefoot had convinced her to run instead. While they argued, one alimon charged forward and almost got them. The kids realized what was going on at the last second and dodged out of the way. The alimon only left claw marks in the wall they were standing next to.

The alimons chased them down the tunnels, until the alimons heard something and run off. Littlefoot and his friends didn't know why they left, until they looked around and saw him.

Donovan.

Littlefoot was snapped back from his trance when Shuva nudged him in the shoulder. "Huh? What?" He looked at Shuva. "Oh hello."

"Where were you?" She asked, smiling slightly.

"Thinking." He yawned. "So what's going on?"

"Dynamo, the chief, has decided to try and find a counterspell so that we alimons can help fight off the sharptooth horde." She said this dutifully.

Littlefoot smiled. "Thank you." 


	45. Escape Fortress Valley

(A/N It's been a while since Fortress Valley was mentioned. oo )

Part V: The Curse

Back at Fortress Valley, all seemed lifeless. The tall grass swayed in the wind as it gently brushed it with its mighty breath. The mountains seemed to whistle as wind swirled around it. Leaves that had fallen danced in the whirling air, and came to settle on the soft Earth. If someone wasn't well informed of the valley's secrets, it would be paradise. Suddenly, the silence and beauty of the valley was shattered when a flying sharptooth sailed overhead, cawing loudly as it circled high above Fortress Valley. It was brown in color, a light green on its underbelly and color, and its beak the color of the sun itself. It was a male, and his name was Nopsid.

Nopsid quicky too roost on top of one of the dangerously pointed mountains surrounding the grassland and woodland. He was one of the few sharpteeth who stayed behind to keep an eye on the place. Chomper didn't want to leave the captives unguarded for fear they might run off. Nopsid sailed the skies about every twenty minutes or so and kept an constant look out for runaways.

Down below, behind Nopsid's keen eyesight, two figures, bent low to the ground, slowly walked across a series of shadows. Their eyes were wide, even in the darkness, and their breathing was low and labored as fear gripped their hearts. The one in the front suddenly stopped, causing the other to bump into him. "Hey!" The other one, female, hissed quietly. "Don't stop so suddenly!"

"Shhh!" He hissed at her, putting his finger to his mouth to emphasize. "Do you want bird-brain up there hearing us?" He gestured towards the large flyer, who was now taking a short nap. "If we want to get out of here, we have to get past him and fast."

"But Nychus, what if he does see us before we have a chance to make it out of this prison?" She asked, voice laced with fear as she stared wide-eyed at Nopsid.

Nychus smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, Syna, we'll get out of here soon enough."

As the moonlight stared to shine through the clouds, the figures lurking in the shadows lsowly came into some kind of view. Nychus, the one in the front, was an iguanadon, a spikethumb. His body was covered in blue-green scales, with a light teal underbelly, and speckled with many small black spots. His thumbclaws were long and sharp, ready to be used against an enemy. The other, Syna, was not an iguanadon as it might have sounded. She was something else entirely. As the moonlight started to shine on her, her body was covered with silver scales, and the only parts that were a different color was her underbelly, which was white, and her eyes, surrounded with white. Her eyes were blue. She was a protoceratops, a zerohorn.

Syna was fully grown. Her kind was never very big, even smaller than Hyp's kind. Nychus was much larger than Syna, but was not yet fully grown. He was only half the age of Littlefoot. The two crept along as best as they could as Nopsid continued sleeping. They knew that time was running out. Nopsid would wake up again and begin his search. The plant-eaters slowly made their way towards the entrance of the cave, knowing very well that, with most of the sharpteeth gone, the traps wouldn't work. All the traps had to be activated by groups of sharpteeth who took turns moditering the entrance so no intruders could come in.

Nychus placed his hand on the entrance of the cave. He looked down and Syna, who was slowly approaching cautiously. "Well...it's now or never..." He whispered.

"Freedom..." Syna said softly. "I almost forgotten what it felt like..."

"Huh...what's going on...?" The brown flyer stirred awake, his red eyes slowly opening.

"Oh no!" Nychus said, and shoved Syna inside the tunnel. "Quickly, in here! Let's go, now!" Syna nodded and ran as fast as she could inside the tunnel, feeling relieved as her body was bathed in darkness, which provided some protection against the sharptooth flyer in case he tried looking down here. Nychus climbed inside as well and began making his way down the tunnel. They didn't hear anything more from Nopsid except a groan and a snoring sound. They still had time to get far enough away from the valley that Nopsid wouldn't spot them, even from air.

They soon made their way towards the exit, light from the moon shining on them almost mercifully. Syna took her first breath of freedom, something she hadn't had since she was a teenager. Her body shook and her mind was boggled. Was this a dream? Could it be real? "Could we really be free? Are we free?" She whispered, not able to hold back a smile of glee.

Nychus panted as he stumbled out of the cave. "Yes, Syna, we're free. We're finally free."

"W-W-WHAT DID WE DO!" Shouted a male squawking voice as he seemed to be struggling for his life. It was Ichy. A dark blue, red striped female troodon named Wounder had gripped his legs together and was dragging him towards General Chomper, who had recently returned. Chomper had gotten word of what happened, and was furious at Dil and Ichy's failed attempt. He had given them a second chance, and they failed. Their usefulness had ended. Ichy panicked and kept trying to fly away, but the troodon, although small, was heavy enough to deny any real flight for Ichy.

"Yeah!" Cried a female voice, growling. "We tried our best! We really did!" It was Dil. She was confused. She could barely see what was going on. She only saw darkness with some forms of shadow. She also struggled to get away. She was a lot stronger than Ichy, but not strong enough to escape the grip of one of the giant sharpteeth, slightly larger than Chomper's foster parents, who was dragging her along by her tail with his mouth. The large sharptooth was a pale green with white underbelly. His name was Reaper.

As Wounder and Reaper continued dragging Dil and Ichy closer and closer to General Chomper, the carnotaurus was standing at the end of a whole line of sharpteeth. There were many sharpteeth, both large and small, both swimming and flying. Many of them bared their teeth at the sharp-beak and bellydragger as they were being taken to their doom. A handful of sharpteeth either looked away or looked at them sympathetically.

When they reached their destination, Ichy and Dil were tossed at Chomper's feet. They screamed, and backed off. Ichy tried to fly away, but the blue horned sharptooth snatched him out of the sky and tossed him back to the ground. "You cannot escape your punishment, sharpbeak!" Chomper shouted cruelly. "Your use has ended now!"

As Chomper drew closer, all Dil and Ichy could do was wait for the jaws of death to close in around them right in front of the sharpteeth who were gathered around.

Dark Rex soared through the air high above the valley. He was heading towards the cave where Littlefoot was hiding, or so he thought. The large dragon/dinosaur hybrid perched in the highest tree. Despite his large size, he could land perfectly, and he began to search his surroundings. "Oh Littlefoot...why don't you come out and play with your old pal, Rex?" He taunted, and took off again. Once he saw the cave, he grinned.

"It's time to play..." He grinned as he slowly walked towards the cave entrance.

In a cave in the mountain walls, far away from Dynamo's cave, four figures emerged out into the moonlight. They were the same creatures from before, the one who seemed to be 8 ft tall was in the front. His eyes glared down at the valley as hatred filled his mind. He could remember what had happened here years ago, even though at the time he was only a kid. Now it was time for revenge. He grinned.

The moonlight revealed that all four figures were alimons, just like Shuva and Dynamo. The lead alimon was gray in color with a brown underside starting from his lower jaw and stretching to the tip of his tail. His eyes were red against a yellow background and his claws were light gray. His name was Gris, and he was the son of the alimon who had betrayed Donovan so many years ago.

A second alimon, standing closest to Gris, was Retaru, a red alimon with darker red stripes along his back and a white stomach that didn't stretch on his neck or tail. His claws were yellow, and his eyes were also yellow, but against white this time.

A third alimon, furthest back, was white in color and had a few black spots and a black underside starting from his face, covering it with black, and ending between his legs. His claws were the color of blood. He was called Snowstorm. His eyes were yellow against a blue background.

The final alimon, who looked to be the smallest, was called Sumaru, was black in color with red stripes covering his body. A light blue covered his mouth, paws, eyes, and tip of his tail. His eyes were green with white background.

"Soon..." Gris spoke, grinning evilly. "Our plan will come full circle...and the Great Valley will finally be ours!" He laughed. Retaru and Snowstorm nodded with agreement, their hungry eyes settling down on the valley. Only Sumaru seemed to be doubtful.

"Yes, but are we sure it's going to work?" He asked, and was quickly siezed by Gris, who shook him up.

"Of course we're sure!" He hissed, and dropped Sumaru. "And when that egg hatches..." He didn't finish, but just laughed. 


	46. Dragon Heart

(A/N This may be the only time I do two chapters in one day.)

Part V: The Curse

The group stared at Spike as the spiketail continued to speak. "N-No egg has that smell...Not even sharptooth, egg stealer eggs..." He coughed, and Ducky stroked his head, reassuring him. Spike smiled, but continued talking despite the pain. "If hatch, we may die..." He said, before collapsing back down. His breathing became labored. He still hadn't fully recovered. The wounds on him were pretty deep. Ducky looked at him worringly before turning to see Ali's expression.

Ali's expression was still dark, but a few hints of tears began rolling from her eyes. She couldn't doubt Spike's sense of smell, nor the sharpteeth's sense of smell. She knew what they were saying was true, but she still didn't want to believe it. She stared at her egg, or what she thought was her egg, and gently pushed it with her snout. She almost screamed when two red eyes glowed from within the shell. She recoiled and backed out of the nest. "What was that!" She shrieked.

Sandstorm quickly walked over to the sound of Ali's cry. He almost screamed himself when he saw the red eyes. Everyone stared at horror at the egg, now knowing for sure that this egg was out of the ordinary. Sandstorm cautiously approached, hands outstretched as if ready to deflect a blow. As he got closer, he could see a faint figure inside. He narrowed his eyes to try to get a better look. It had a beak, and feathers, but it also had...scales?

"This creature...it's nothing like I've seen before." Sandstorm admitted. "If it hatches, I won't know how to stop it..." As he spoke, the egg rocked back and forth on its own, causing Petrie to panick and fly to a further part of the cave, where he hid behind a rock and shivered. Ali couldn't keep her eyes off the egg. Her maternal instincts told her to take the egg and nuzzle it, but her brain was telling her to smash it. The egg was a threat to her very survival.

"But I know..." Said a ghostly female voice. Everyone whirled their heads around to see Doc. At first they were confused. Doc was no female longneck, that's for sure. But he smiled, and disappeared, causing everyone to scream with surprise. As the vapor that was once Doc faded away, a new one was formed. No one in the room could recognize the new longneck, who seemed to be in the prime of her life. Sandstorm knew she was a spirit, and to be that young, she must have been killed.

The female longneck was a brownish color with what looked like light ivory along the lip of her top jaw and stretched onto her chest and belly, and ended at the tip of her tail. There was a dark brown stripe starting at the tip of her snout, went along her back, and connected with her spine, and went to the tip of her tail. She lowered her head and looked into the eyes of Ali. Ali gulped and backed away. The new ghost longneck studied her for a few seconds, before lifting her head up. "You remind me of my son, Littlefoot."

Ducky was the first to speak. "You're Littlefoot's mother?" She stammered, in complete shock. The female longneck looked to her, and gave a soft smile.

"Why, yes I am." She then looked at Sandstorm. Instead of looking at him with hatred, she lowered her head so she would be eye level with the veteran. "I know what's inside that egg. You must destroy it."

Sandstorm couldn't speak for several minutes. He finally found the courage, and stammered, "W-What's inside it?"

Littlefoot's mother winced, and closed her eyes. "Stoneglare..." A stoneglare, or better known as a cockatrice, was a creature of myth and legend. It was part bird, part serpent, and could kill when it made eye contact with anyone.

Suddenly, the ghostly apparation disappeared as fire spewed through the caves, licking against the cave walls. The dinosaurs inside quickly backed away as smoke filled the caves. They coughed and wheezed until they had no choice but to get out. When they reached the outside, they continued coughing, and tried to get out of the smoke. The wind mercifully blew the smoke away, revealing a famliar and yet unfamiliar figure. Petrie perched on top of Ali's head as he stared wide-eyed at this new creature.

"A-A flamebreath...?" He stammered, looking frightened.

The flamebreath, dark blue in color, grinned. He stroked one of his enormous fangs as he started to walk closer to Ali. Ali glared at him defiently, almost daring him to attack. "Why young Ali, as defient as ever." He sneered, putting his hand on her chin. She retaliated by trying to bite him, but it resulted in a slash across her face. Ali cried out in pain as the flamebreath growled, "Try that again, and it will be your eyes next time!"

His eyes set on Petrie, who was trembling with fear. "And Petrie..why are you so afraid? Don't you recognize your old pal, Rex?" He laughed coldly.

Petrie lifted his head up, staring at the flamebreath with disbelief. "No...it can't be..."

"But it is." Yu said, jumping in front of the group. "Chomper forced Rex to betray us all." He stood his ground between the one sharptooth and leaf-eaters, and the maniacal Dark Rex. "He is no longer the Rex we knew." His voice was low as he said that as the feeling of betrayal filled his heart.

Ducky shivered. "But...how could Rex become this...?"

"Because my past life was a flamebreath!" Dark Rex shouted, spreading out his torn wings. "I have inherited the powers of a flamebreath! Behold!" He opened his mouth and shot out huge fireballs from his mouth, which the group could barely dodge. The plants nearby caught in fire, and the fire started to spread rapidly, burning any vegetation it touched. Petrie and Ducky watched in horror as part of their homeland was getting destroyed by the intense heat. Ali couldn't take it anymore and charged forward, causing Petrie to fly off her head.

Ali used her tail to knock Dark Rex down. She then pinned him down with one of her feet. She lowered her head against his, and growled. "Don't do that again, or I'll..." She couldn't finish when Dark Rex wrapped his claws around her face, closing her mouth. He then pushed her head down into the dirt, and her body followed, falling onto its side. The flamebreath then rose to his feet, and let go of the longneck's head. He then pressed his feet onto her neck, and started to press down. Ali's eyes widened as she felt her windpipe being closed.

"Or you'll what...?"

Shuva and Littlefoot walked side by side through the forest. Littlefoot's wounds had been treated enough that he was well enough to return back to the cave. One of the alimons that Littlefoot had met in the cave was coming along. This alimon was male and about the same size as Shuva. He had mentioned his name before was Spellbound, because he was good in the art of magic. He was the second alimon guardian to be free of the spell Chomper set on them. Dynamo was still working on freeing the others.

Spellbound was purple with a dark blue back starting from the tip of his snout and ending at the tip of his tail. His eyes were red against a white background, and his claws were also white. Spellbound was related to Shuva as a cousin. He walked close by Shuva and Littlefoot as they headed back towards where the cave was. Littlefoot was worried about what had happened while he was gone. Rex did a good job at luring him away. He felt stupid for believing the dracovol's lies. That was a mistake he would not make again.

"Are we almost there?" Spellbound said, groaning with impatience.

Shuva swatted him in the shoulder. "Show some patience, will ya, cousin?" She ordered. "After all, all dinosaurs didn't appear in just a day!"

Spellbound growled as he rubbed his shoulder. "I know, I know. I just don't see why we have to accompany the longneck the whole trip!"

Littlefoot ignored the alimons' bickering. He had more important things to worry about than to hear a couple of sharpteeth argue about patience and walking. He then suddenly stopped when he saw smoke rising into the sky that was dangerously close to the cave. His heart pounded and his mind panicked. "Oh no...Guys!" He shouted and broke off into a run, startling the alimons.

"Now where do you think he's..." Spellbound said, but was cut off by Shuva.

"No...fire!" She cried out, and bolted after Littlefoot.

"Oh geeze!" Spellbound said as he too saw the flames and smoke rising into the sky. He took off after Littlefoot and Shuva as they raced against time to reach the cave before the smoke destroyed the cave and those Littlefoot cared about.

'I can only hope we're not too late...' Spellbound thought as he felt his heart pounding as they raced across the forest floor. 


	47. Kill or Die

(A/N Yes I did get permission from Cyberlizard to use Mel and Lizzy in this chapter)

Part V: The Curse

As the horned sharptooth approached, the sharpbeak and bellydragger trembled terribly, hardly able to stand up, let alone move backwards. Despite her size, Dil was the most afraid because she couldn't see. She wouldn't know if Chomper was biting down on her until she would feel his teeth slicing into her, and then it would be too late. Ichy tried to stand his ground, although his knees were hitting eachother as his legs shook violently. "C-C-C-Come on..." Ichy started to stutter. "C-Can we a-a-a-at least another ch-ch-chance..?" His response as a terrifying, angry roar from Chomper.

"Another chance? You want me to give you another CHANCE!" Ichy and Dil paled. "I gave you chance after chance to kill them!" He stalked even closer. "But you FAILED and FAILED time and again! No, this time I won't give you another chance!" He bared his teeth and was ready to move in for the kill. "Your usefulness has expired, sharpbeak and bellydragger."

Although she could not see, Dil dropped to the ground and covered her eyes. She curled her body into a ball, a sort of defense for herself. Ichy jumped in with her, and buried his face into her side, trembling. He couldn't bear to watch as the carnotaurus made mince meat out of them.

Suddenly a voice shouted out from the crowd. "NO! STOP!" Chomper raised his head up and looked to see who it was. Dil and Ichy reopened their eyes and turned in the direction the voice had come from. "DON'T DO IT!"

Chomper narrowed his eyes. The voice had belonged to one of a pair. He knew those two. "Mel! Lizzy! How dare you interrupt me! What is your business in doing so?" He growled.

Lizzy was the first to show up. She looked just like Ichy, except her eyes were pale green in color, and not yellow like Ichy's were. She too had gray feathers were her black feathers used to have been, but some of her feathers remained black. Her beak was still blazed with ebon. She flew directly towards the general, and landed near Ichy and Dil. "Please, reconsider their fate, General Chomper." She pleaded. "Just reconsider."

Then the second figure showed up, ready to plea Dil and Ichy's case. It was Mel, Lizzy's partner. Mel looked like Dil, only his eyes were golden yellow, he was light blue with specks of grey, and his spine was navy blue. Like Dil, he had lost a couple teeth from his mouth, but he was still lethal. Unlike Dil, Mel was lucky enough not to be near-sighted, or nearly blind. "If I might make a suggestion, sir," He said respectfully, "..maybe if you paired them up with us, they'd have an easier time to..."

"Why would I want to give them yet another chance!" Chomper boomed, causing Mel and Lizzy to cower as well. "They failed me before! What makes you think that just because you pair up with them they could do better! That they won't fail me again!" He demanded, flexing the claws on his hands menacingly.

Mel gulped. "B-B-B-Because if they are having trouble, we could...h-help them...?" He was so afraid he wasn't thinking straight.

Lizzy hopped onto Mel's head. "Yeah, that's right! If there's any chance those 'kids' are winning against Dil and Ichy, Mel and I could jump in and surprise them!"

Chomper narrowed his eyes. He went deep into thought, considering this. It was indeed true there was strength in numbers. He didn't want to waste his time giving these two another chance. But he also wanted to find and kill Littlefoot. He knew Rex was on his tail, but what if he had failed? Chomper seethed. He remembered when Slasher was still alive, how he told him how it was because of Littlefoot that he and his true father were seperated.

He so wanted to get back at Littlefoot for that. He made him suffer. He killed his adopted brother, he killed his father, he even went as far as killed Cera, a close friend of Littlefoot, and who was once a friend of his. He finally closed his eyes, and said, "Very well. I will grant the one more chance."

Dil and Ichy smiled. "Thank you, sir!"

Mel and Lizzy walked up to their mates, and nuzzled them. "We won't let you down, sir!"

Chomper intervened, "But...!" The bellydraggers and sharpbeaks stopped smiling. "...but if you fail me again, all FOUR of you will be executed!" He warned them, growling to prove his point.

Dil, Ichy, Mel, and Lizzy all gulped at the same time when Chomper threatened them with this terrible warning. "O-O-Okay, we won't..." Mel managed to whisper, shaken up. The quartet stared at each other. How were they going to pull off killing at least one of Littlefoot's friends without failure?

Gorjak flew high overhead, and stared down at the land, trying in vain to search for where Littlefoot's cave was. He sniffed the air, trying to find Petrie's scent. But the winds had blown it all away. He grumbled to himself. He needed to get to Littlefoot's cave and fast!

"The evil alimons, they have returned." He said as his heart pounded. He had feared the alimons in the valley's mountainous walls ever since the day he saw his father being slaughtered by one when he landed there just for a rest. He himself barely escaped, being saved by his mother. "What are they plotting now!"

As if on cue, smoke suddenly blew in his direction, almost smothering him. Gorjak coughed furiously, and flew up higher to escape the black smoke. He squinted his eyes to try and find the source. When he did, his eyes widened. The fire was coming from near a cave! It must be Littlefoot's cave!

"No...I've got to hurry!" With that, he sped off as fast as his wings could carry him.

The four alimons had returned to their cave. There was clamouring amongst the group. They all sounded excited. Then Gris walked up to a raised rock ledge, and cleared this throat. The whole group went quiet, and listened eagerly to what their leader had to say. Every alimon in that cave was a relative of the previous rebel group years before.

"Followers! I bring good news!" Gris said proudly, his eyes glinting with sadistic happiness. "Our trap has been delivered, and it's about to hatch!"

The alimons cheered and laughed. They all knew well of the plan. They would send a cockatrice to take down the ones who had stopped their kind before from getting what they deserved. Then the cockatrice would die and disappear from existance, and then the alimons could take over the Great Valley. The carnage was great, but there were still dinosaurs out there, hiding until the chaos was over. The alimons could scent it.

One of the alimons spoke up. "And what are we going to do after we conquer the Great Valley?"

Gris grinned maliciously. "We start spreading our territory across the Mysterious Beyond, and claim any other valley we come across."

Once again the alimons cheered. They were very eager to start their global conquest to prove that alimons were the superior dinosaur species, and that they and they alone should rule the earth. Gris watched them, and smiled darkly. "Yes, everything is going according to plan..." He had to laugh as he recalled how he was able to trick Chomper into rallying up all those sharpteeth to attack.

Gris remembered well that it was he who had transformed himself as Slasher and pretended to be Chomper's father. He had manipulated a story to trick Chomper into believing Littlefoot had deliberately seperated him from his 'real' dad. He had pretended to play dead, and then slinked away in the night.

"Chomper was a fool." He chuckled. "Such a fool..." 


	48. The Look of Death

(A/N I don't know why, but I felt compelled to write another chapter the next day.)

Part V: The Curse

As Dark Rex was menacing the teenagers, somewhere deep inside his mind, a voice was crying out. In the deep compounds of his brain, a voice of reason rang out. Somewhere in his deep unconsciousness, a light is trying to shine through. "NO! NO! NO! NO!" The voice screamed again and again, trying to be heard, but only silence greeted him. Still chained to the wall, the real Rex struggled to be free. Groaning and grunting, he tried to rip the vines open. Normal vines would have been easy to tear. So what was so different about these? He pulled his left arm as far as he could, trying to break the plant. But before it could break, he would run out of energy and relax, and his arm would be slammed against the wall once more.

"Struggle all you want." A chilling voice that belong to Dark Rex said. "It matters not." The dragon/dinosaur hybrid grinned as he approached the struggling dinosaur. "There's no way you could break out of those binds, my boy."

"Just wait and see!" Rex shouted bravely. "I will find a way! I will make you pay for what you've done!" He frantically tried to break free, but only rewarded with a cold laugh from Dark Rex. Rex finally gave up the struggle and relaxed, his muscles aching from all the strain.

"You might as well give up, young dinosaur." The hybrid laughed and turned and walked a way. "Those vines are reinforced. You will never break them. And because you will never break them, I will be in control of your body until the time comes for me to let you go." He sneered to himself at this statement. "Toodles!"

Rex tried to pull himself forward. "Come back here!" But it was too late. Dark Rex had slipped back into the shadows. Rex was once again all alone. The room was so dark he could barely see his own snout at the end of his face. He could not see the vines, but feel them. He tried struggling free once more, but his energy had been depleted. Defeated, he hung his head mournfully. "He's right...I'll never be able to break free...Never..." He felt large tears emerging from his eyes as he spoke these words. He didn't bother noting if they were streaming down his face or not. He didn't care how many of them came out of his eyes. He didn't care if Dark Rex was watching him from the shadows.

There was only one thing that Rex cared about now. It was the fact that Dark Rex was going to kill his friends and there's nothing he can do stop it. And to make matters worse, once it was all over, Rex would still get the full blame for it. He would be an outcast, shunned away by everyone. His heart had broken into two as he thought about this.

"I have to find a way to get free." Rex thought frantically. "There must be a way."

"There is." A voice had broken through the silence, and this time, it didn't belong to Dark Rex. But Rex couldn't recognize who owned the voice that spoke to him. It was feminine and enchanting. "There is away to break free of the spell, young one." The voice spoke again.

"How!" Rex shouted, struggling against his binds, straining his head in every which way to search for the voice. "I struggle all I want, but I cannot break free!"

"Even if you break the binds, young one," the voice said, "You will still be under the spell. You will need to do more than just simply break the ropes holding you. You must break the beast that's holding you."

Rex sounded confused and scared. "What...? Beast...?"

The female voice spoke again. "To release yourself from this mind prison, young one, you must tame the beast within..."

Now the dracovol was even more frightened and confused. As if Dark Rex wasn't bad enough, but now there's a beast lurking inside his mind? How could things get any worse! "I must tame the beast? How? Where?"

"You have already met the beast, but that is not his true form." The voice said in a warning tone. "When he is in his true form, you will be free to fight him. But be warned, he will not be so easily taken down. Let courage guide you, Rex..." The voice slowly faded until it was silent once more.

Rex was stunned. He was so surprised that he relaxed all his muscles in his arms and legs, giving them a well deserved rest. "I must fight Dark Rex's true form...but what could that be...?" Then his eyes widened in fear when a memory came back to him. That day, when he looked into the water, and saw the beast.

"That beast..." He shuddered. "T-T-That must be his true form!"

Inside the cave, where Ali's egg was still sitting, the flames had stopped burning, and smoke was leaving the room. The gray smoke stained the walls a darker color, and the smell of something burning, namely some leaves and grass that were stored away in there, seemed to almost completely cover the smell of rotting flesh that came from the strange egg.

The egg suddenly moved, rolling onto one side, and then the other. The shell was starting to crack. A horrible sound emitted from the egg. It sounded like a mix of a raptor shrill and a T-Rex's roar. A large piece of the shell fell to the ground. Then another piece fell down as well. A maze of cracks covered the egg, and then finally, with one kick of its claws, the shell broke open, and stepped out the cockatrice.

The cockatrice was rather small, but size does not matter for a cockatrice. And within a few minutes, it grew larger anyway, until it reached the size of a bellydragger. The stoneglare shook its head and opened its eyes for the first time. They were large and pure yellow, and the pupils were slits, like a raptor's. But instead of being colored black, the pupil was colored a blood red. The cockatrice was covered in feathers, and a sharply hooked, but rather short, beak. It wore a crown of long features and horns around its head. It had feet like that of a sharpbeak, but it they weren't webbed.

The wings it had were like a flamebreath's, and were sharply hooked to the touch. A long scale-covered tail swooshed from side to side, the tip of it being armed with a deadly stinger. When the stoneglare opened its mouth to let out a screech, a row of sharp teeth lined its beak. The cockatrice's feathers were pure white except the ones on its head, which were red tipped with yellow. The scales it had were a gray color, like the color of stone. Black claws and spikes it had, and the inside of its wings were light gray. Its beak was black.

As the sound of the cockatrice emerged from the cave, the ones standing outside immediately stopped, and listened with absolute horror. Sandstorm's eyes widened in fear, and he started to tremble. Yu was backing away slowly, shaking his head as if saying no over and over again. Spike, who had barely managed to get out of the cave, could only watch, and shiver. Ducky could only stand there, and watched in sheer horror. Ali was in disbelief. How could her egg turn out to be such a monster? Petrie clung onto Yu's neck, and trembling miserably.

Dark Rex released his grip from Ali, and walked a few steps towards the cave. A nasty grin on his face, he turned to look at the gang. "Well...I see you have a new play date." He chuckled. "Well I suppose this means that I can leave and go back to Chomper and tell him the good news. See you later!" The dark creature opened his wings and took flight, heading back to where Chomper was.

Ali slowly climbed to her feet. "Why did he leave just like that?" She wondered.

"He was saving his own neck!" Sandstorm shouted. "He's leaving us to the stoneglare!"

"The stoneglare can kill us if he just look into its eyes!" Yu yelled, horrified.

As he said that, something started walking slowly out of the cave. It screeched a few times, its feet snapping twigs, leaves, and ash as it walked forward. The others forgot all about the fire that Dark Rex had started, their attention focused on the creature walking out. As soon as a glint of something looking out was noticed, Sandstorm quickly warned everyone. "LOOK AWAY! DON'T LOOK AT ITS EYES!"

Everyone broke their direct stare away, looking at the ground, the fire, the sky, the plants, the rocks, anywhere but in the same direction as the cockatrice that was stepping out of the cave. It cawed a few times, kicking up dirt. It bobbed its head up and down, checking out the figures that stood before it. It hissed, and let out a loud screech. It took a few steps closer, lowering its head, and glancing up at the beasts.

Although Ali, Petrie, and Ducky could handle the smell better since their noses weren't as sensitive, the remaining dinosaurs had a hard time ignoring the retched smell. Yu and Sandstorm plugged their noses and started breathing in through their mouths to try and avoid the smell. Spike's eyes were shut tightly, and his eyes were watery. He shivered terribly, whimpering. He couldn't look away. He had to keep his eyes shut. The cockatrice looked in Spike's direction, and seemed to know he was an easy target.

The stoneglare walked closer and closer. It stroked its beak against Spike's head in an almost affectionate manner. The stegosaurus squeezed his eyes shut even tighter and groaned. The stoneglare suddenly opened up its sharp beak and let out a terrible shrill. The sound was so loud that Spike was forced to open up his eyes...

...and look deep into the cockatrice's eyes.

Spike didn't even get a chance to say anything when his heart suddenly stopped beating. His eyes became glossy, losing their depthness. Then his whole body turned into rock, freezing him in that position for all eternity.

The others knew what had just happened. They all witnessed it. They quickly looked away, trying to keep themselves from suffering the same fate. Ducky couldn't hold back her tears any longer as they flooded from her eyes. "S-S-Spike...n-no...no...n-n-no..." She choked, and wiped away a tear.

Littlefoot, Spellbound, and Shuva had just arrived onto the scene when they saw Spike frozen in time. "What happened!" Littlefoot cried out.

Spellbound's eyes widened in horror. "Quick! Close your eyes!"

"Why?"

"Just do it!" Spellbound shrilled.

"It's a stoneglare!" Shuva said, frightened. "One glance will kill."

Quickly, Littlefoot turned his head away, and squeezed his eyes shut. He walked towards where he had seen Ali, and whispered, "What's going on here?"

Ali didn't even look at him as she gave her answer. "Our offspring was a stoneglare..."

Gorjak was nearby as well. He had heard what they were saying, and quickly closed his eyes. He had a look of sorrow on his face. "A stoneglare...What a low down dirty trick." He said to himself. Not even Chomper himself would have done such a thing. Chomper...Gorjak suddenly suspected that maybe Chomper was not the one behind this whole mess. Thinking back to those alimons, he knew very well that some of them are magical. Could they have something to do with this?

Dark Rex landed near the platform where Chomper had tried to kill Dil and Ichy only to be thwarted by their meddling mates, Mel and Lizzy. The sharpteeth have mostly dispersed to other parts for the time being. However a few remained. As Dark Rex walked among them, he recognized them. He had fought with them before.

Snowbound was standing with Shadow. The two looked like night and day put together. The white female looked into the skies. "I wonder...could Sandstorm have been right?" The black one looked at her, a curious look on his face. "I mean, these past few days...nothing but death and misery. I'm wondering, is it really all worth it?"

Shadow thought for a moment. He realized his ivory friend had a good point. "But we must not say anything. You know what happened to Sandstorm." His voice trailed off as misery filled his mind.

"I know..." Snowbound said. "I know..."

And close by stood the two feathered raptors, Jackel and Red. Red hissed softly to himself. He was watching Snowbound and Shadow from a safe distance. He knew very well that they had just said, but he decided not to do anything at the moment. "Let's just hope they don't follow in the ways of that traitorous Sandstorm." He said.

Jackel grinned, and nodded. "Yes, indeed. We wouldn't want anymore troublemakers slowing us down."

Red smiled as well. "Chomper has been regrouping us for another assault. And with the valley's defenses weakened, it will be ours in no time!"

"Oh you really think so?" Said a female voice behind them. The two raptors whirled around to see Blueye. The pale yellow raptor had disappeared for a while and no one knew why. "It will not be all that simple."

"And what makes you think that?" Jackel inquired, his green eyes narrowed.

"Don't ever misjudge your enemy." With that, she turned and walked away, leaving behind two baffled sharpteeth.

Dark Rex ignored them, and continued strolling through the sharptooth pack until he found who he was looking for. Chomper was standing near the cave entrance where the sharpteeth have been residing since their original invasion. He was leaning against the rock, and staring up at the sky. He growled softly in frustration, wondering what he was going to do. When he turned around and saw Dark Rex, his frown turned into a smile.

"Welcome back Rex." He said, grinning. "I suppose you took care of those leaf-eaters?"

Dark Rex frowned and shook his head. "I left them be." He twiddled his fingers almost threateningly at himself.

"You what!" Chomper cried, eyes widened with anger. "You just left them alone!"

Dark Rex said, "Let me finish." His left eye was starting to glow a little, but it soon faded as he settled himself down quickly. "There was a stoneglare in their cave. It hatched. It will deal with them." He grinned nastily.

General Chomper looked a tiny bit horrified by this, but then smiled. Perhaps the cockatrice could pick off a couple of the dinosaurs, make his job a little easier. But he mostly felt happy that Rex was back with him, and by his side. He beckoned Rex to follow him into the cave.

"Anyway, Rex," Chomper said as they walked along one of the cave tunnels. "We are going to return for another battle against the enemy." Dark Rex narrowed his eyes, and nodded. "We will strike them while they are still weak! They will not be able to resist us!"

"Yes..." The hybrid said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "Well, don't get too cocky."

"I won't." General Chomper growled. "I will take down Littlefoot myself...rip out his throat..." He knew that saying was getting old, but he couldn't help himself. He looked at Rex in almost affectionate manner, and said, "I wanted to tell you something, Rex." The dracovol looked at him, a little puzzled. "I never did this to anyone before, but, I'm so impressed by your performance earlier that I've decided to give you the title as General Rex."

Dark Rex's eyes widened in shock. "General...Rex?"

Chomper nodded. "Yes. You are now a general. You will lead half my sharptooth pack and I will lead the other. Together, we'll be invincible!" As he said that, he walked over to a corner of a cave that looked like a jail cell. He looked inside, and smiled maliciously. "Isn't that right...Pterano?" The figure inside, hidden in the shadows, glared daggers at the horned sharptooth outside. But he kept his mouth shut.

"Pterano...? I thought he died..." Dark Rex inquired, looking confused.

"On the contrary, he is very much alive." Chomper grinned. "And he may prove useful yet..."

As the sounds of the cockatrice shrills filled the air, Gris raised his head up. He was standing with his loyal pack and they too heard the sounds. A nasty grinned crossed over Gris's snout. He knew very well what it meant. The alimons who knew as well shuddered, though they too smiled evilly.

"The stoneglare...is out."

"It has begun?" Sumaru asked almost timidly.

Retaru snarled. "Yes..it has begun." Retaru would've smacked Sumaru across the head, but his better judgement told him otherwise. "Now all we have to do is wait."

"Wait for what?"

Retaru rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Wait until that idiot of a sharptooth Chomper goes in to another battle with the leaf-eaters." He chuckled to himself. "And when both sides are weakened, we shall conquer them both!"

(A/N My longest chapter to date. oO And starting with this unusually long chapter, I know only have 12 more chapters to go! Whoo!) 


	49. A Look In The Water

Part V: The Curse

"A...stoneglare..?" Littlefoot inquired, his voice trailing off. "How...how could we possibly give birth to a...stoneglare?" He then thought for a second. "Hey what's a stoneglare?" He felt kind of silly asking this, but what could hurt asking a question. Ali whirls her head around to face Littlefoot, her blue eyes narrowed. Littlefoot couldn't tell if it was anger or sadness that was lurking inside Ali's eyes.

"A stoneglare is a monster who kills with its stare. Don't look into its eyes. That's all you need to know." Ali said sternly before looking away. She quickly closed her eyes to protect herself from the stoneglare which had just taken Spike's life. Ducky had felt her away towards her brother, and when she touched his skin, once soft and warm, now hard and cold, she broke out into a sob. Ali tried to hold back tears of her own.

Littlefoot narrowed his eyes, never even daring to look towards the ground. "There must be something we can do..." His eyes tightened as far as they could do. "There's just got to be something! Anything!" He turned to look down at Shuva and Spellbound. "I-Isn't there anything that could stop it?"

They weren't paying attention, but the cockatrice was still looking around. It looked almost confused when the others weren't looking at it. It screeched loudly again, but the others weren't buying it this time. Frustrated, the cockatrice spread its wings and tried to fly, but it was too young, and it fell straight to the floor. Screeching, it scrambled to its feet, and cawed furiously.

Shuva looked downcasted. "S-Sorry kid...but no one's ever succeeded in killing a stoneglare before."

Her cousin looked just as upset. "No one could ever get close enough to attack it without it looking their way and killing them." He kept his eyes closed. "No one knows how to kill it. No one..."

Shuva nodded, eyes remaining closed. "Its glare will kill anything that looks at it." Her body started to tremble. "Even the insects must flee. There's no way to kill this thing. We can only hope we can trap it inside the cave and it starves to death."

Littlefoot listened, and looked shocked. There was absolutely no way to kill the cockatrice? There was no way to keep this monster from killing anyone unless they tried the risky attempt to trap it inside a cave? No way! Littlefoot wasn't buying it. The longneck felt there still had to be another way to kill it. There just had to be! The apatosaurus closed his mind and drifted into deep thought. Ignoring the hideous cawing and pecking of the cockatrice at his feet, he began to think about what Shuva had just told him about a cockatrice. He knew that they could fly later on in life. He knew that they had a horrendous odor linging to them. He knew that you couldn't approach them without your eyes being closed. He knew that one should not look in their eyes or they will kill.

Then Littlefoot's eyes widened. As he recalled what Shuva said about the stoneglare's stare of death, he also recalled how she said it will kill anything. "Wait a minute..." His voice sounded hopeful. "I-I just thought of something..."

Ali turned her head towards her mate. She walked closer and looked into Littlefoot's eyes. "Oh? What is it?" She sounded hopeful too, but she was trying not to get her hopes up too high. She hated to be disappointed in the end.

"Just think about it. Shuva, didn't you say a stoneglare's glare kills anything?" He said, stressing on the word anything. Shuva nodded, but before she could get a word in edge-wise, Littlefoot interrupted. "So wouldn't it be safe to assume that this creature can't survive its own stare?" He said, still sounding hopeful. "What if we tricked it into seeing its own stare?"

Spellbound sounded a little skeptical. "It's never been done before, Littlefoot." The male alimon brushed the feathers on his neck with a paw. "We don't even know if it'll work."

"And on top of it," Ali said, "How are we going to manage it looking at its own stare? Isn't that kind of impossible?"

Shuva thought about this. "Not quite.." Littlefoot, Ali, and Spellbound looked at the green alimon, who was scratching her chin thoughtfully. "The water reflects everything that's in its path. It shows our own image. If we could get the stoneglare to look into the water and it sees its reflection, maybe the stare from the water would be enough to take its life away."

Spellbound shook his head. "It's too risky. And like I said, we don't know if it'll work. Why should we risk our necks trying to get that monster to look into the water when we don't even know if it'll kil it or not?"

"And why should we risk our necks getting it inside a cave and cause a rockslide and trapping it inside without one of us getting trapped in along with it?" Shuva said, glaring at her relative. "I'm all for the longneck's idea. It's never been tried, I give it that. But it sounds like it could work!"

"All right then..." Ali said softly, still looking at Littlefoot. "How do we do that?"

"Well..." Littlefoot said before Petrie cut him off.

"This include me bait again?" Littlefoot couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well we DO need someone to make it look into the water. The only way to do that is to have it chase someone. Since you are the smallest and fastest of us, Petrie, you have to do it." Littlefoot smiled, though his eyes still held seriousness in them. He wasn't joking around with this. And Petrie knew that, no matter how much he begged, he'd still be forced to go through with it.

"Oh..okay..." The flyer said reluctantly. "What me need to do?"

Littlefoot looked at where the river was that was nearby. "All you have to do is get its attention, without looking at it straight in the face." He said in a commanding voice. "Then fly over to the water, and hover over it. When the stoneglare comes for you, dive into the water at the last second, and force it to look into the water. And it should be over." Petrie looked nervous. "I will signal to you when you can come up." Petrie gulped, and flew over to the cockatrice, keeping his gaze way from direct contact with the pupils of the beast.

"Hey you! Stupid stoneglare!" The stoneglare looked up at the annoying flyer. It hissed. "Can't catch me! Can't catch me!" Petrie darted every which way, sometimes at close range, frustrating the stoneglare. The beast screeched in anger, and snapped at Petrie. The plant-eater dodged just in time. "Haha! You miss!"

Petrie started to fly closer to the river. The stoneglare followed, just as they all hoped it would. Ducky watched, glaring, hoping the monster would meet his doom after what he did to her brother. As Petrie neared the water, he gave a careful sideways glance to make sure the cockatrice was still following him. When he was sure, he stopped right above the water. He waited for the cockatrice to get closer. When the cockatrice arrived at the water's edge, it started to look nervous, as though it sensed something was wrong.

Littlefoot's eyes furrowed with worry. "Oh no..I think it knows..."

Ali shushed him. "Shh! Let's see what happens!"

From the treetops, Gorjak watched as Petrie was attempting to get the stoneglare to see its own reflection. The dark flyer thought about this. It seemed logical enough. Gorjak hoped for them that it was indeed true. If this failed, well, he didn't know what to do. He would have tried to help, but after the scrap he had been in with Petrie before, he didn't feel the little guy was ready for his return now, especially in this situation.

Petrie waited for the stoneglare to get a little closer. When he felt it was time, feeling its cold stare on his body, he quickly dived down, and hid under the water, close to the surface. If the stoneglare looked down, it would see its own reflection and hopefully perish. If not, then it's back to square one. Petrie hoped it was the first.

The cockatrice looked into the water, but nothing happened. Shuva took a closer look, avoiding the possible glare. Then horror registered in her mind. "It closed its eyes! The stoneglare actually closed its eyes!"

"Then it's true..." Spellbound said, amazed. "If the stoneglare won't open its eyes, then it must be afraid of turning into stone by its own stare. It must be true!"

Petrie stayed under the water, and was confused as to why Littlefoot wasn't coming for him. Feeling confused, the flyer emerged from the water. "Littlefoot? What's taking so long?"

Littlefoot's eyes widened with sheer horror. "PETRIE! NO! GET BACK DOWN!"

Ducky shouted, "PETRIE! BACK IN THE WATER! NOW!"

Shuva screamed, "GET IN THE WATER!"

Spellbound screeched, "YOU HEARD THEM!"

Petrie was rather confused by the dinosaurs' shoutings. If the stoneglare had looked down, wouldn't it be dead already? What was there to hide from? Curious, the flyer looked at shore. He was careful not to look straight up, in case he was wrong. And he was. He could see that the bird monster's foot was still flesh and blood, and it was still very much alive. Petrie gulped, and looked up and gasped. The cockatrice's eyes were squeezed shut, but its face was pointed in Petrie's direction.

Petrie trembled, unable to move. He waited for the beast to open its eyes and take his life away. But as he waited, nothing happened. Petrie started to climb out of the water, feeling confused as to why the stoneglare hadn't laid a claw on him yet. "Guys! What happen? Why it no attack?" 


	50. First Warning

(A/N: This was originally one large chapter, but instead of uploading a big chapter like I did last time, I cut it short into two seperate chapters.)

Part V: The Curse

But suddenly, a sharp pain whacked Petrie's small body. "PETRIE!" Littlefoot screeched, trying to run forward, but was held back by Spellbound and Shuva's powerful grips. Petrie let out a loud scream of pain. The cockatrice had struck down, clamping its tooth-filled beak around the much smaller prey. It clamped down tighter, applying more pressure. Petrie made another scream, this one gargled by blood that had seeped into his mouth. He coughed pitifully, and tears started to form in his eyes.

The others could only watch in horror when the cockatrice started shaking Petrie like a rag doll, his bones snapping sickeningly as the force pushed their tolerance to the limit and beyond. When all the bones were broken, the cockatrice placed the flyer on the ground.

"PETRIE!" Ducky was about to race forward, when Ali's tail wrapped around her leg and pulled her back.

"No Ducky!" Ali said sorrowfully. "It's too late! We can't save him now."

Ducky and the others watched as the cockatrice placed its foot on the bottom part of Petrie, and gripped the front part with its strong beak. With a sharp thrust, it ripped Petrie's body in half. The others screamed in disgust, and backed away when intestines and other organs spilled onto the ground. A large pool of blood spread across the grass, and Petrie's spine could be seen, shattered in several places. The stoneglare ate the first half of Petrie in a single gulp. It released its grip on the other half, and did the same with it. Blood still stained the ground at its feet, and clung to the bird's foot and beak. Satisfied it made a kill, the bird let out a screech of accomplishment.

"No!" Littlefoot cried, seeing one of his closest friends get devoured right before his eyes. Now they've lose two friends to the cockatrice, and all in less than twenty minutes. Tears stung Littlefoot's eyes, and he bowed his head. "No...Petrie...no..."

Ducky wiped tears from her eyes. It was like a waterfall for her now. "He...he was my friend...Poor Petrie..."

Ali was shaking terribly, trying to hard to keep herself from falling. "No..it can't be..." The two alimons were too stunned to say anything.

Gorjak's beak dropped open as he watched the ordeal. "That creature means business..." He whispered, but still not daring to move. He looked down at the grieving group, and narrowed his red eyes. If they didn't act soon, they'd all get killed! Why were they just standing there? "HEY! DON'T JUST STAND THERE! DO SOMETHING!" He shouted, forgetting that he was supposed to hide.

Startled by the shouting, the group looked up to see Gorjak perched in the trees. He continued his shouting, "DEFEND YOURSELVES!"

Spellbound was already on it. Using his speed, he ran circles around the cockatrice, making it angry and frustrated. "Hey! Can't you see me?" He taunted as he continued racing around the monster. "Can't kill what you can't see, eh!" The cockatrice let out a shriek of utter confusion, and it launched an attack. Instinctively, the alimon leapt over the bird, and landed behind it. Then he continued racing around it, making the monster more and more confused.

The cockatrice looked left and right furiously, trying to catch a glimpse of the speeding alimon. Then without warning, the alimon stopped, right behind the cockatrice. He then chanted a spell. "Dance, water, dance!" He quickly jumped in a different direction when the cockatrice suddenly whirled over in his direction. As Spellbound continued to jump from one place to another, some of the water was being sucked out of the river and formed what looked like a large solid tube of water that floated his way.

Spellbound smiled. "Yes, dance water!" And just as the cockatrice turned around to face the alimon, the alimon had quickly moved the water in front of him. The cockatrice didn't have time to blink when it caught sight of its own reflection.

A loud screeching echoed from its throat as its own body started to turn to stone. The pupils vanished from its eyes as rock covered its face. The bird tried to run away, but its limbs froze solid. Soon it had suffered the same fate as Spike. Ducky walked up to the statue, and gave it a good whack with her tail. The rock split, and shattered, destroying the shape of the cockatrice. "That's for killing my brother and friend!"

"The...the stoneglare has been destroyed..." Sumaru said, trembling.

"It has been WHAT!" Gris shouted, teeth bared. He pressed his snout against Sumaru's. "Why didn't you do ANYTHING!" Before Sumaru could answer, Gris clamped his jaws on the back of Sumaru's head. The smaller alimon howled in pain. Gris released his grip and said, "Just be GLAD I let you LIVE!" He turned and walked away.

The small alimon backed away, whimpering. "There...there was nothing I could do..." He said, trembling. "B-But it did manage to kill a spiketail and a flyer..."

"It should have killed more!" The gray alimon struck the ground, scraping the dirt with his claws. "I wanted it to make them suffer! How! How could they have defeated it!"

"A-An alimon made it s-s-s-see its own reflection..."

Gris's eyes snapped open and he turned to Sumaru, shocked. The smaller alimon has got his attention now. "An alimon?" He walked closer, calm but curious. "Just who was this alimon?"

Sumaru thought for a moment. "I-I believe she said it was Spellbound...and he was with Shuva."

Gris's eyes narrowed dangerously. "So...dear old Siria, or should I say Dynamo, is meddling in my plans." He chuckled darkly. "Well, we'll see about that..."

"You are a madman!" Pterano screamed at the horned sharptooth. Dark Rex had just left to go outside, leaving Chomper and the adult flyer alone. "You will fail! You will fail!" He shook the bars as hard as he could, but the solid rock would not budge.

Chomper laughed coldly as he kneeled down to Pterano's eye level. "Ah, yes, you are quite amusing, aren't you?" He rose back up. "Well scream and say whatever you want, small one. You cannot change my destiny."

Pterano scoffed, and rolled his eyes. "Oh yes, your destiny is to fall off the cliff!" He retorted and spat on the ground in front of the general's feet.

General Chomper ignored the flyer's retort, which Pterano should have taken as a stroke of sheer luck. Had he angered the general, he would have had a divorce with his head. "I'm through playing with you." Chomper said, red eyes narrowed. "I think it's about time I finish you off." At this, Pterano cringed, and backed as far away as he could. Upon seeing this, General Chomper chuckled coldly. "Oh how I love to see you writhe and squirm, little one."

Offended, Pterano stared at the sharptooth straight in the eyes. "Mark my words, Chomper! You and your army will be struck down by the very ones you have taken!" Pterano knew something that the others did not know. It was the reason why he didn't like Topsy or Cera, but he knew it may be the key to their salvation now.

The blue sharptooth laughed at this, the sound echoing on the walls in the darkness of the cave. "Oh really? And just how are they going to do that?" He continued laughing. "By rising out of the grave!"

Pterano grinned almost eerily. "Oh you'll see...you'll see..." 


	51. To Break the Bonds

(A/N: I'm gonna have to start wrapping things up. There's only 10 chapters left. Well 9 chapters after this.)

Part VI: The Revelation

As Ducky wept for the loss of not only her brother, but one of her closest friends, Littlefoot moved even closer to Ali, and gently nudged her cheek to get her attention. Tears streaming down her face, she turned to face the male longneck. Littlefoot swallowed, trying to find the words to say. What had happened had struck the deepest parts of his heart. He had known Petrie since he was a kid, and now he was gone, taken by some monster he never knew existed. As he stared into Ali's blue eyes, Littlefoot went into an almost deep trance as he thought about all he and Petrie had been through together. Now all that time together has been severed forever.

Memories of Spike also flooded back to him. He remembered how Ducky first met Spike, and how Spike helped save Ducky from Dil and Ichy. Spike was with them his entire life. And this is how his life ended, being turned into stone. What a way to die... Littlefoot shuddered as he thought of how painful it must have been for Spike to feel himself turn into rock, slowly killing him.

"Littlefoot?" Ali asked, breaking the other longneck's trance. "What are you thinking?"

Littlefoot shook himself back to his senses. "Oh, I was just thinking about how terrible of a loss this is..." He spoke sadly, voice bordering on sobbing. "Petrie and I were best buds for so long...and so was Spike. He choked back tears as best as they could, but Ali could clearly see the clear liquid flowing from the others' eyes.

"I know, Littlefoot." Ali said soothingly. "I know."

"Ali...I-I have to know." Littlefoot gathered the courage to ask. "Who...who did this..?" A few more tears flooded down his face. "Who caused this to happen?" He was almost terrified of what the answer was going to be. He braced himself, staring at Ali, waiting for her to answer.

Ali swallowed hard. "R-Rex did.."

Littlefoot's heart filled with a sharp pain, his mind became filled with anger. Eyes narrowed dangerously, he bared his teeth and growled. It was so menacing that even the two nearby sharpteeth, Yu and Sandstorm, had backed away in fear. The longneck stomped his foot into the ground. "THAT'S IT!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. "I HAVE HAD IT! I'M GONNA SETTLE THINGS ONCE AND FOR ALL!"

Ali had backed away, frightened by Littlefoot's temper. Ducky and the alimons were horrified as well, as they stared in shock at what Littlefoot had shouted. Yu and Sandstorm were trembling, and they took a couple steps back. "J-Just how are you p-p-planning on doing that, Littlefoot...?" Ali stammered, afraid of what the answer might be.

Littlefoot's mind was still clouded by anger. "I'M GOING TO ROUND UP THE ALIMONS THAT'S WHAT! I'M GOING TO SEND THEM TO ATTACK AND KILL ALL THE EVIL SHARPTEETH! I'M GOING TO FIND REX AND CHOMPER AND MAKE THEM PAY!" He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he was letting out his rage. "I HAVE HAD IT WITH THEM AND CAUSING PAIN AND MISERY! I DON'T CARE ANYMORE THAT THEY WERE MY FRIENDS! I'M GONNA KILL THEM!" As he finished his shouting, his body started trembling, and tears flowed from his eyes once more.

The others around him were frightened by this sudden let out of anger and rage. They had backed away a couple feet now, giving Littlefoot room to cool down. Littlefoot lowered his head, panting heavily but slowly. As he was seemingly cooling down, Ducky took a few cautious steps towards him. "You...feeling better Littlefoot?"

Littlefoot shot her an angry look, eyes misted by the tears. "Do I LOOK better!" He snapped, causing Ducky to cringe back in fright. Ignoring that, Littlefoot looked at Shuva and Spellbound almost angrily. The alimons, although they both knew they could take him on and win, backed away but kept eye contact. "Shuva! Spellbound!"

"Y-Y-Yes...?" Shuva asked nervously.

"W-What is it?" Spellbound inquired.

"Come with me!" He shouted sternly. "We are going to round up the alimons and prepare for a full-scale attack!"

Yu stepped forward, trembling. "L-Littlefoot..I understand your anger but...don't you think you are being too drastic..?"

Littlefoot shoved his face against Yu, causing the sharptooth to recoil. "Too drastic? TOO DRASTIC!" He snarled. "I have been avoiding drastic measures for too long, Yu! I'm putting my food down!" He returned his attention back to the alimons. They shivered, but nodded. "Good, let's go."

Rex was limp against the wall, his head bowed in submission. His eyes were closed, and it looked as though he were in a deep sleep. And if he was, he was dreaming about how things used to be, way back before his sharptooth instinct had been first awakened. He still rued that day, but he did realize that he would not have met Yu and his pack if he hadn't done so, and he would have never have discovered what he truly was, a dracovol.

(A/N: Kumo is Sora's character and Turquoise is EbonyPatriot's character.)

A laugh was forced from his mouth. A humorous memory came back to him. He recalled the time when Kumo had regained some of his childhood memories, memories that had been pushed far back into his mind, and he one day reclaimed some of them. Kumo had told Rex, with a somewhat annoyed look on his face, how a troodon named Turquoise had called the dracovol species Flying Tyrannosaurus Rexes. Rex had burst out laughing at the statement, although his cousin didn't see what was so funny about it.

Rex hasn't seen Kumo in years. He had first thought he'd been attacked and eaten by the alimons years ago. But that couldn't be possible. Kumo was way too tough for that. Rex sighed. Whatever happened to Kumo he had never found out. And he highly doubted that he would ever solve that mystery.

He tugged a little on the vines. They were still tight as before. He pulled a little harder, and they still stayed secure, bounding his limbs to the wall. He snarled viciously as he remembered what the spirit earlier had said. "To release yourself from this mind prison, you must tame the beast within..." Rex repeated to himself. "What did she mean by that?" It wasn't much help in releasing him from the bonds. And according to the spirit, the real battle would be fought after he had gotten himself loose.

He struggled harder, and suddenly, he felt something weakening. He relaxed himself, and gently pulled on one of the vines binding him. It had become looser! Smiling with enthusiam, the dracovol pulled even harder. His struggles had been paying off all this time. All this time his efforts had been weakening the bonds!

Finally, with one final tug, he felt the vines snap clean off. He fell to the ground, and struggled to get up onto his feet. He rubbed his wrists and ankles gingerly. They had been sort from being tied up for so long. He could see slight reddish rings around them. He snarled. He looked down the passageway where he knew Dark Rex had gone. Giving himself a few minutes of mental preparation, stretching, and sharpening of claws, Rex walked down into the darkness to face off with Dark Rex.

Chomper had left the cave. He had had enough of Pterano's big mouth and secretive behaviors. He had ordered him to be killed in a few hours. Pterano was still trapped within the prison, and was unable to squeeze himself out. He hasn't seemed to lose his fighting spirit however. To amuse himself he started to scratch the wall with his small but sharp claws.

"So...this is how it ends..." He mused to himself, dropping his wing to the ground when he stopped scratching the wall. He looked down on the cold hard ground. If his spirit was broken, he was doing a very good job of hiding it. "All I can do is hope that they find out the truth...about Cera." He looked up at the cave walls. "She's our only chance now."

But then, as Pterano craned his head far back enough, he could see an opening in the ceiling. He backed himself against the wall to get a better look. To his amazement, the hole was in his own prison! He could see the light of the morning sun outside. Smiling slyly, Pterano took a quick look around his environment before gripping the rock with his claws and made the journy up the wall. And lucky for him, no sharptooth came back to check up on him. As Pterano reached the exist, he took in a deep breath of air...and nearly gagged.

"The air..it smells...rotten." Then a look of horror grew on his face when he started to recognize one scent, laced with the smell of the dead. He shook his head in disbelief. "No...no..." Tears formed in his eyes. "No..not him...oh please..not him..." Pterano spread his wings open and took off. "Petrie..."

Syna and Nychus had struggled through one of the valley's entrances. They were attracted and horrified by the smell of decay. They walked cautiously among the foliage, and hoped they didn't attract the attention of the sharpteeth. "It looks like they beat us to it..." Nychus said softly, shaking his head.

"What do we do...?" Syna whimpered.

"We must find the one in charge of the place. We must convince him or her to go to Fortress Valley and help liberate the others. With the combined effort, we will win." Nychus said bravely, glaring at the pack of sharpteeth that was several yards away. 


	52. Fight For Freedom

(A/N Sorry for the lack of updates. My old computer busted, and we just got a new computer a couple days ago.)

Part VI: The Revelation

Rex cautiously walked through the tunnel. The walls seemed to be closing in. It appeared to be getting narrower as he moved along. He held his hands together and looked around nervously, his dark eyes adjusting to the darkness. He felt a chill ride up his backbone with every step that he took. The walls were so close to him now that he thought he could see the very fine detail in the rock. 'How far does this tunnel go?' The dracovol thought. He was starting to feel frightened as the tunnel continued to grow narrow the further he went down. 'Maybe I should stop...and turn back...' He turned to walk away, but then with his next step, the wall had fanned out far apart so abruptly it took him by surprise.

The opening he had come upon led into a large open room, much like the ones in the alimon caves. Rex cautiously took a step in, and peered up at the ceiling. A few rays of light was shining through. As the warm rays hit his skin, he felt this energy rise up inside him. But when he went back into his shadows, that feeling of renewed strength was gone, vanished just like that. He was puzzled by this phenomenon. Why did he feel strong in the light, but weak in the dark?

'I guess I could try to use that to my advantage.' Rex thought. He looked around the room once more, and studied the lighted areas more closely. The large room had a small light section in the middle of it. If his theory was correct, and he kept Dark Rex in that spot long enough, he could win. Rex took another step, and winced as he felt his toes strike a small stone. The stone rolled across the cold hard floor, and the sound echoed off the walls, and increased and prolonged the sound. Rex looked around anxiously. Surely his dark counterpart had heard that sound.

He heard a soft growling sound coming from one of the tunnels that connected into that small room. A single red eye glowed brightly, and the dracovol gasped, backing away. A paw of long sharp claws gripped the side of the wall, and scraped the tip of the nails across the wall, sending a cold bolt in Rex's smaller body. He took another step back, almost regretting his decision of facing off with Dark Rex.

The red glowing died down slightly, and the other eye became visible. The scar that Rex had on his face now showed itself on Dark Rex's face as the hybrid emerged into the room. Upon seeing Rex free from his binds, Dark Rex growled softly, and slowly licked one of his over-sized teeth. He then took his claw, and picked around the groove between two small sharp teeth, and was able to pull out a piece of flesh, and flicked it to the ground. "So..how did you escape your binds, brat?" He inquired darkly, the red eye glowing brighter this time, almost illuminating the whole room.

Rex was shaking, but didn't back down. He straightened himself up, and stared at his counterpart bravely. "I've come to fight you, and gain control of my body once more! I will not let you decieve my friends any longer."

Dark Rex stared at Rex long and hard for several minutes. During that time, he didn't make a muscle move, save for the occasional scraping of teeth or skin, and a couple yawns. He then started suppressing a laughter. Rex tilted his head. Suddenly Dark Rex burst into laughter, a cold laughter, that echoed in the room.

Rex gripped his hands into fists, squeezing them so tight that they shook violently. "Hey! What are you laughing about!" Dark Rex continued laughing. Rex couldn't take it and he rushed over, forgetting his fear, and gripped Dark Rex by the shoulders and shook him. "WHAT'S SO DARN FUNNY!"

Dark Rex just grinned, and pushed Rex to the ground. "You are, my boy." He said, staring at the smaller dinosaur. "I believe Littlefoot has just organized an alimon party to come and kill you."

Rex's dark eyes widened, and a sharp gasp was inhaled. "B-But why would he..." He growled. "You...what did you do!"

Dark Rex chuckled. "Well, not much..." He scratched his tooth. "Just sicked a stoneglare on your precious 'friends' that's all."

Rex gasped again, and backed away. "You did what...?"

"And if I understand correctly, it took the life of two of your 'friends.' " The hybrid responded, smiling at Rex's despair. He was loving his pain. And Rex could see it.

"Why..Why...you..." He stammered, lunging forward, blinded by anger. The dracovol took to the air, and brought out his sharp clawed feet in front. "Take this!" He struck the hybrid across the chest, and two of his claws managed to sink into the beast's skin, and slashed downward, creating two bloody gashes going vertical on his chest. Dark Rex screamed in pain, and he pulled back his long-clawed hands, and struck across Rex's back. The young dracovol fought back tears and a cry of pure agony as the sharp nails cut into his back, and back of his wings. Four gashes snaked across his back horizontally. Rex fell to the ground, and struggled to look up. Dark Rex lifted up his foot, and struck down, trying to crush Rex's head under the weight of it.

Rex reacted quickly, and painfully rolled out of the way. As he rolled, he lifted a paw and struck his claws across Dark Rex's ankle. The monster screeched, and lifted his foot up into the air instinctively, to avoid another struck. And this was a big mistake. Rex struck out again, this time aiming for the other ankle. He gripped it, and pulled as hard as he could, and Dark Rex tipped over to one side.

Remembering what had happened earlier with the darkness and light, Rex started to drag his evil self towards the center of the room, where the largest gathering of light in the room rested. As the rays touched his skin, Rex felt himself grow stronger, and he pulled Dark Rex entirely in the illuminated area with one big yank.

"What's this...?" Dark Rex muttered, almost scared. "My strength...it faded..."

"But my strength increased!" Rex said proudly before lashing out at the hybrid, managing to knock him onto his back, pinning him. The dracovol raised a paw and slashed across the monster's face, giving him four new gashes, blood seeping from the wounds. He struck again, this time into Dark Rex's shoulder, cutting the muscle and blood vessels inside. His claws were getting caked with blood. Dark Rex cried out in pain, and struggled to knock off the dracovol.

Littlefoot, Ducky, Ali, the two sickleclaws, and the alimon pack slowly walked across the field, their shadows darkening the land around them. Littlefoot's eyes narrowed into near slits, and his teeth were bared. The others around him were more nervous, but tried to hide it. Pterano was perched on Littlefoot's head. He looked just as angry as Littlefoot. He had recieved word of Petrie's demise. He felt nearly all sanity inside him burst open with that single statement. He agreed to join Littlefoot in the quest to destroy Chomper and Rex to avenge the death of their loved ones.

Not long after they had started their journey, the group of plant-eaters were joined by other survivors. They all came out of hiding, and joined up with Littlefoot. Many of them lost all or most of their families to the hideous sharpteeth. Nychus and Syna also caught up with the group. The once small group had grown much larger, consisting of both meat-eating and plant-eating animals.

Not too far out in front of them, maybe two miles, Chomper was leading his army towards Littlefoot's army. Walking next to Chomper was Dark Rex. The hybrid smiled almost proudly, walking side by side with Chomper. The army of sharpteeth was larger than Littlefoot's combined group. The majority of the sharpteeth were of the bonecrusher variety. There were several ridgeheads, even more sickleclaws, a handful of Spinosauruses, and a couple of other horned sharpteeth like Chomper and Loc. Hidden among the ground was a pair of longclaws, or Therizinosauruses. They normally feasted on vegetation or insects, but they had agreed to join Chomper's army. Chomper wanted them for their uniquely long claws, which stretched forabout three feet from the claw root. Also joining the pack was Gris and his pack members.

Loc was walking close behind Dark Rex and Chomper. All doubt in his mind over these days had faded away into nothingness. They were replaced by arrogance and confidence. With a pack this size, how could Littlefoot and his pesky friends possibly hope to win?

"There they are!" A ridgehead who was near the front announced. General Dark Rex narrowed his eyes, and held out his paw, halting the army. General Chomper held out his paw as well, as if confirming the hybrid's order to stop. Rather abruptly, the pack stopped in their tracks, and some growled, snarled, and snapped impatiently.

"Why are we waiting?" Blueye growled. "They're over there!"

"Why don't we charge already!" Answered a raptor.

"They're just walking pieces of meat!" Came the reply of another raptor.

Littlefoot stopped on a hill, and glared at the sharptooth pack on the other hill. The hills grooved down to create a relatively large plain, a useful battleground. "There they are..." Came the hiss of Pterano, who now stooed up on the longneck's head.

Sandstorm walked out into the front, and peered out ahead. He felt a strange feeling in his heart, possibly rage, when he spotted Red near the front of the pack. He tensed up his body, and prepared to lunge downward. Yu stood by, and he felt the same way as Sandstorm when the green raptor spotted Jackel. He prepared to attack on Littlefoot's word.

Shuva and Spellbound growled uncertainly as they spotted their rival pack, Gris's pack, mingling with Chomper's horde of sharpteeth. This was going to be one tough battle.

For several minutes, the two groups just stood there, staring at the other, waiting for the other to make their move. The dark clouds rolled over head, and a loud thunderclap clashed through the skies. The sound sent a chill through the hearts of both sharpeeth and leaf-eater alike. Others stood uneffecting by the deafening roar of thunder as they stared at their enemies, a growing hate emerging in their hearts and minds.

The silence was unbearable for some of the dinosaurs, and they expressed it by growling and snapping at each other, whether they were plant-eater or meat-eater. Finally General Chomper took a step forward, smiling insanely. "So it comes down to this!" He said. "Well it's over for your freelife, plant-eaters! Why don't you go easy on yourselves and give up?" He grinned. "I dreamed of this for years."

Sandstorm growled, and opened his mouth to speak, but Littlefoot interrupted. He stepped up to speak. "We will not go down so easily, Chomper!" He declared. "We will fight you! This is your last chance, sharpteeth! Go home!"

Chomper laughed coldly at the longneck's statement. "Why, Littlefoot...we are home!" Lightning flashed, illuminated the carnotaurus's face eerily.

Dark Rex looked behind at his and Chomper's army, and made a gesture. "Come on! Attack!"

The pack of sharpteeth roared and growled in agreement. Showing their long teeth in their jaws, and displaying their talons, they rushed forward towards the group out in front of them. They raced down the hill, and nothing was going to stop them.

"Move out!" Littlefoot announced. The others bellowed as they started running as fast as they could, descending down the hill. The alimons of both sides were the fastest, and they were the first to meet at the bottom of the hill. In a matter of seconds, the two sides clashed with each other, claw against claw, tooth against tooth.

A black-colored threehorn rammed her horns quickly into the side of a large sharptooth, penetrating the vital organs. A duckbill screamed in pain as a horned sharptooth bit into his back and ripped out part of his spine. Two alimons tackled each other, drawing much blood from each other. A longneck bared his teeth as he used his foot to literally crush the life out of a raptor, blood staining the ground and the bottom of his foot. A spiketail didn't have time to scream as she felt one of the Spinosauruses sank her crocodile-like jaws around her neck, and gave a sharp twist, breaking the neckbone clean in half.

"That's right!" Dark Rex declared. "Go for the eyes! Break their jaws! Rip out their throats! Break their backs!"

"Get them!" Chomper announced. "Show them what a real sharptooth is capable of!"

A Therizinosaurus faced off with a longneck. They circled each other for a few seconds, before the longneck turned around and lashed out with its long thin tail. The longclaw swiftly dodged it, and he ran close to the longneck. Before the dinosaur knew what was coming, the Therizinosaurus jammed its super long nails into the side of the sauropod, entering on one side, and exiting the other. Blood completely covered them.

Three evil raptors jumped on top of a small duckbill, digging their sharp claws into his vulnerable skin. Suddenly a clubtail swatted one of the raptors away. The other two abandoned the duckbill to check on their fallen combrade. All of his bones had been shattered.

Ducky watched the battle, and noticed something on the ground nearby. She looked up again, and spotted Loc menacing Ali. She looked again at the thing on the ground, and an idea came to her head...

Inside the dark confides of Dark Rex's mind, Rex stood over the hybrid beast, looking triumphant. His teeth and claws were stained with the beast's blood. Dark Rex was still conscious, but wincing in pain from so many deep cuts in his body. His wings were even more ripped up, his face was clawed up, gashes covered his body. He tried to get up, but fell back down, and closed his eyes.

Rex wiped off his hands. "That was easier than I thought..." He looked down the tunnel that Dark Rex had come from. "And now to regain control of my body..." He made a mad dash towards the tunnel, but he stopped dead when he heard the hybrid call out to him.

"No! No! You will not win that easily!" Rex was shocked to see the hybrid get up onto his feet, despite the beating he had just recieved. "I'm not through with you!"

"I beat you to a pulp." Rex breathed. "How could you still be standing?"

Dark Rex grinned. "Because I can do something you can't..."

He started screaming as his body started to change in shape. Rex watched in horror as the creature's spin snapped and spread further apart, filling in the gaps. The tail lengthened to near three times the original length. His neck protruded further out, his jaws lengthened, his teeth grew in size. His pupils changed, turning into slits. Horns grew out of the back of his head. His wings healed completely and a row of sharp spines protruded from his back.

Rex backed away fearfully as the creature grew to a staggering size. He broke through the cave, revealing a wide open area that looked like a series of platues, hills, and mountains. Rex flew out quickly before a large paw could smash him under its tremendous force. The dracovol landed on a high cliff, and looked down. He screamed as the fully transformed flamebreath's head peered over with ease. A large paw struck down, nearly missing the dracovol. The dragon narrowed his eyes, and flames shot out of his mouth, striking the ground.

Rex could feel its hit sting his body, and he backed away. He looked up at the colossal creature. He gulped as his mind registered the sheer size of the creature. He felt his legs start shaking. His teeth chattered. His heart raced inside his chest.

The dragon peered down, and grinned. His large teeth were now even larger than Rex's body! "So..do you still think you can take me on?" The dragon spoke in a booming dark voice. Rex couldn't reply, having almost passed out from shock. "Let's see if you have what it takes to defeat a full flamebreath, you little pest!"

He struck out. Rex regained his composure, and flew out of the way. He snarled, and dove down, striking at the flamebreath's eye. "Let's do this!" He declared, clawing at the vulnerable eye. The dragon shook his head violently and suddenly, forcing Rex to let go, fly away a few feet, turn around, and try again. 


	53. Fiery Duel

Part VI: The Revelation

Rex brought out his taloned feet in front of him, and dove directly towards the giant eye that belonged to the dragon.The dragon shifted his gaze towards the dracovol, and grinned. He opened up his huge wingspan. Rex's concentration was broken as he stared at the enormous wings. They looked like they could fit across the valley's length of the Great Valley! Temporarily distracted, Rex couldn't react when the monster's tail came out of nowhere and struck him in the side. Rex yelled in pain when he was knocked out of the air. He crashed down in between two large rock formations.

The giant flamebreath roared ferociously as he bent down and lashed out. Rex closed his eyes, waiting for the pain of the teeth close in around him, but when he opened up his eyes, he realized that the flamebreath's head was too large to fit in through the crack. The dragon snarled impatiently as he tried to fit his snout in.

Rex grinned smugly as he walked up to where the mouth was only a few inches from him. "See? Bigger is not always better." He laughed and slashed across the giant's snout.

Yelping, the giant lifted up his massive head and let out a roar. A few trinkles of blood ran down the front of his snout. But they looked like only minor scratches to the giant! Rex flinched and backed away. His larger claws on his feet would do a bit more damage, but they'd still not be enough to produce a wound that would even be considered an annoyance to this flamebreath.

'Man what am I going to do?' Rex thought as Dark Rex lowered his head back down. The creature opened up his mouth, as if to speak, but instead of words coming out, flames came out instead. Rex screamed and took into flight, and screamed again as the tip of the flames singed the tip of his tail.

"You are no match for me, weakling!" The dragon bellowed. As Rex flew away, the dragon took to the air as well. He was like a giant ship trying to attack a small rowboat. "Without even fire, you cannot win! Why not just surrender now and make it easy on yourself?" The dragon asked as his huge eye opened up only a few feet away from Rex's flying form. "Or do I have to kill you?"

Rex snarled, and slashed at the eye. Instinctively, the dragon pulled away before the dracovol could do any damage. "I hate you!"

"The feeling's mutual." The flamebreath growled. "You kept me bottled up inside your whole life. You kept me in the shadows, in the confides of your puny mind. You kept ignoring my urges, kept dismissing my calls."

"What are you talking about?" Rex asked, confused. "I've never met you before in my life! Well until you took over my body that is."

The dragon laughed so hard that Rex had to flap his wings as hard as he could just to stay in the one spot. "Don't be so naive, Rex." The dragon said as he stopped laughing, but kept that huge grin on his face. "You've met me before, years ago."

Rex's mind is mixed up with all kinds of questions. What was this moron talking about? Where have they met before? He was just plain crazy! "W-What are you talking about, you overgrown excuse for a volcano!"

The dragon's grin broadened. "Remember Zill?" He hissed through his grinning mouth. "Remember the bloodlust you got at that moment? Remember how you felt as you saw the blood seep through your paws? Remember how you jumped on him and broke his neck? Remember how you tore out his internal organs and ripped apart the body? Remember how you buried your face inside him and ate as much blood and flesh as your small body could handle?"

Rex's face was drained of all color as memories recollected in his head. Vivid memories of the horrid deed replayed itself over and over inside his mind. That was the moment that his life had changed. That kill was the turning point to how he is now. That event nearly led to the extinction of the friendship he shared with Littlefoot and his pals. He gulped nervously, shaking so badly that he lost control of his flight and fell down.

Dark Rex narrowed his eyes slightly and he brought out his giant paw and caught the dracovol. He brought him close. "Remember?"

The dracovol regained his composure, though as he stood up his legs wobbled like they were made of unsturdy quicksand. "Y-Yes...b-b-but what does that have to do with you...? And how did you...how did you know what happened?"

"How could I not know?" Dark Rex smiled. "I'm with you, always. I'm a part of you as you are a part of me, kiddo." He laughed. "And as what it deals with me, well, that wasn't your sharptooth instinct taking over." Rex's eyes widened as big as they could get, and his mouth partially opened. He tried to speak, but no words came out. "Yes, that's right Rexie boy." The dragon leaned in closer. "That was me."

Rex wasn't sure what to think. His mind just went blank. He stared at the flamebreath disbelievingly. Had he heard right? Was this overgrown flamethrower telling the truth? Was this dragon the real culprit to him unleashing his meat-eating side?

"I-It was you...? This whole time...?" He said, shakingly. "I-I unleashed you...back then?" He stammered, unable to think clearly.

"Yes, I used your hunger to allow myself to surface, in a way." Dark Rex explained. "I was tired of being ignored for so long, so I awakened myself. You had no idea of your true potential, Rex. I let you become aware of that, in that instance." The monster licked his lips. "That sharptooth was so tasty..." He looked down at the kid. "Don't you think so, too?"

"SHUT UP!" Rex shouted, jumping into the air. Anger had taken over his mind now. "YOU WERE THE REASON WHY I HAD TO LEAVE THE GREAT VALLEY! YOU WERE THE REASON MY BOND WITH MY FRIENDS NEARLY SHATTERED! YOU WERE THE REASON WHY I WAS FORCED TO LIVE IN THE MYSTERIOUS BEYOND!" The last part was a lie. He had CHOSEN to live in the Mysterious Beyond until he found out who he was.

The flamebreath cocked an eyebrow. "Me? Oh no my dear boy. I would not have been able to let myself out if you didn't let me." Rex continued growling fearlessly, a distrustful look on the eye. "It's true. You let your guard down, allowing myself to get free...sort of." He chuckled. "I obviously didn't gain full control. You came to your senses after the episodes."

"And I couldn't remember what I did because..."

"...because it was my mind which was in control. When you came to, your mind booted back up with little recollection of what you did." The dragon answered the dracovol's question.

Rex blinked as his mind was taking in this newfound information. But he couldn't lose sight of his goal. He had to defeat this dragon! But how? How! As he stared into the dragon's eyes, he remembered the voice from before. Something about taming the beast...is this what it had been talking about? Was he supposed to somehow 'tame' this beast? Was that the same as destroying?

"What's the matter?" Dark Rex asked, taunting the little dracovol. "Too scared to face the truth? The truth hurts doesn't it?" He chuckled breathlessly.

"J-J-Just shut up..." Rex said, placing his paws on his head. He was trying to think of what mode of action he should take next. As he pondered his, he didn't notice the large paw of Dark Rex getting closer and closer. As he was lost in his thoughts, the dragon swatted down. Rex's mind snapped to reality and he dodged just in time. He could feel the wind rush to him as the paw swept past him and struck the ground. The force was so great it created a miniature earthquake!

"Whoa!" Rex exclaimed. "That was close!" He turned around to face the large dragon. He glared, and gritted his teeth. Just how was he going to win? He looked up around the area. But he couldn't see any source of light. 'Dang it!' Rex cursed. 'How am I supposed to beat him with no light around!' He started to fly away, and he could hear the heavy wing beats of the dragon behind him. Being smaller Rex was able to fly faster than Dark Rex. But Dark Rex was larger. That would pose a problem, forcing Rex to go even faster.

Rex looked around frantically, trying to find a place where he could hide. He noticed a small opening in a cliff wall. 'Perfect!' He thought as he dove downward towards that opening. Just as Dark Rex was about to close his jaws around the puny dracovol, he crawled into the hole, just large enough for him to fit through. The flamebreath roared in frustration. He turned around, and started beating the cliff.

Rex shuddered as he felt the ground shake and the rock formation starting to give way to the colossal monster. He knew he didn't have long to think about a course of action. He knew he didn't have long to figure out just what he should do. His mind raced as well as his heart. He walked as far back as he could into the cave. It was only a couple yards long, and that wasn't good enough to keep him from the jaws of the dragon when that frontier wall finally crumbled.

'What to do? What to do!' He asked himself, digging his claws furiously into his scalp. He winced as he felt blood trinkling down. He stared at his blood, and his hands started shaking again when he remembered what Dark Rex had just told him only a few minutes prior to this event. His hands clenched into fists, and he struck out at the wall. He ignored the searing pain he felt as the hand made contact with the wall. He punched the wall with his other hand, and this time accidentally cut himself against a sharp object protruding from the wall.

He stared at the blood on his hand, a few tears of anger strolling down his face. He was so frustrated that he just had to let it out. He took in a deep breath and let out a loud shrill. It was so loud that even the flamebreath had to shake his head a few times to stop the ringing in his head. But as Rex screamed, he felt a sudden warmth inside his mouth. He opened up his eyes and saw a stream of flames exiting his mouth. And as the flames illuminated the room, Rex could feel his strength returning.

"Of course!" Rex shouted as the flames died out. "The light! Fire makes light!"

"I HAVE YOU NOW!" Dark Rex had broken through the barrier, and let out a huge flame attack on the dracovol. Rex quickly moved out of the way, but stayed close to the flames. This startled the dragon. Rex then struck out against the top jaw. This time the claws had slashed in deeper, and longer, as though he was twice as large. The dragon howled in pain as he staggered back. But he wasn't out of the game just yet. "A wise guy eh? Let's see you escape this!"

The large dragon flew up into the air. He opened up his huge wingspan and the rims all around started to glow. Then that glowing spread over the entire wing membrane. Rex looked up in horror as flames engulfed the wingspan of the creature. "Oh...my..."

The creature roared angrily as the fire turned a white hot color. Then Dark Rex flew downward. He tipped over one wing and then the other. The tips of the wings caused the rock to catch on fire. The white fire spread throughout the entire area, except for the largest mountain in the region. Rex flew up as high as he could, and stared down in shock at the white fire burning the rock. Then Rex realized that the rock was actually firestone, a special rock that could catch on fire. He thought it was only a myth, but he's seen it for himself. Then again this was inside his head. Maybe it's just his imagination.

The dragon flew close to him now, a smile on his face. He looked like he was feeling victorious. "Now what are you going to do, little one? Your only resting spot is over there." He pointed at the formation. "And with that shield, you'll be cornered."

Rex looked over again at the formation. His eyes widened as he realized the dragon was right. There was a flat surface, but what looked like a wave in the form of stone curved over. If he had landed there, Dark Rex would have him for sure! Rex narrowed his eyes at the dragon, and then smiled. "But you made one small mistake."

"And that is...?"

"Lighting this place up!" Rex flew in close, and spewed fire onto the beast's head. Dark Rex roared in agony as the flames from the little one burned his face. The pain was so intense that he had to retreat, and the only place to roost was the stone wave cliff, and Rex followed him.

Rex had noticed a strange mark on the dragon's forehead. It was shaped like an X. He narrowed his eyes. This brought back memories of the evil alimons, who all bore a scar on one of their shoulders to show their loyalty to their leader. This X mark only made itself present after Rex had flamed Dark Rex's head. If he was right, all he had to do was hit that spot directly, and Dark Rex would be done for!

As he got close to the exhausted dragon, Dark Rex retaliated by sending out more fire. But this only added to the illumination and thus making Rex stronger and faster. The dracovol easily dodged the flames. Dark Rex was getting slower and his reflexes sluggish. If he wanted to destroy him, now was the opportunity. Rex knew the flames wouldn't burn forever, and once they die out, the strength advantage would be switched.

He hoved in front of the dragon's head, the large eyes half way closed. "It is time, flamebreath, for me to be free of you once and for all!" He brought out his paw, extending his sharp nails as far out as he could, and dove down. Dark Rex was too tired to react, but let out a scream as the claws penetrated through the X mark on his head. It sliced right into his brain!

Rex recoiled in pain quickly as a hot white light shot out. Rex tried to fly away, but for some reason, he was frozen in awe as the dragon's body started to break apart, white lights shooting out everywhere. The white fire below them started to burn out of control, and get bigger. "WHAT'S HAPPENING!" Rex shouted to no one in particular.

The white light from the dragon had completely swallowed it up. Rex shielded his eyes, and the light quickly died down. When he looked, there was nothing left of Dark Rex except a giant black circle where he had been. Rex stared, shakingly, at what he had just done. "I-I'm free? I'm free!" He shouted gleefully.

Suddenly the white fire below turned into pitch black fire. "What?" The black fire suddenly shot out at him. Rex screamed as the flames engulfed him and pulled him down. He struggled to get loose. The fire was hot, to his surprise, but it was sticky. It was sucking him down, and where he did not know, nor did he want to know. "AAAHHHH! HELP ME!"

His mind was going crazy as the sticky black fire continued to engulf him. Then he heard a voice, the same voice from before.

'Do not be afraid. I will help you.' The voice said gently, and, while Rex was almost completely covered by the tar-like substance, in the corner of his eye, he could see a light shining through. He only saw it for a second before his eyes were covered, sending him into darkness. 


	54. Unforgivable

Part VI: The Revelation

Spellbound pounced on one of the sickleclaws that was charging his way. Pushing the raptor onto its back, he quickly bit down, driving his fangs into the creature's neck, and ripping it clean out. The raptor did not even have a chance to scream. Another raptor jumped from behind him. The alimon reacted quickly, and swung around and grabbed the raptor by the neck. "You picked the wrong guy to mess with, pal!" He squeezed the raptor's neck tighter. Using his other paw to hold him down, Spellbound ripped the sharptooth's head off with one big yank. There was a sickening cracking sound as he did so.

Not too far away, the lead alimon was tackling with one of the Spinosaurs. He ran skillfully around the large brute in an attempt to confuse him. As the sharptooth shot its head every which way, its brain could not cope, and eventually it started to feel woozy. It closed its eyes and shook its head rapidly. During that time, Dynamo had jumped onto the sharptooth, digging his claws into the back of the creature's neck.

The finback roared and tried in vain to get at the alimon. But it was useless. The alimon was standing in a blind spot, one of the areas where it couldn't reach. It let out another roar, this time more out of frustration than anger. "Get off of me!" It bellowed. "Cut it out!"

At this, Dynamo smiled slyly. "Why..that's not a bad idea, finback." The sharptooth was dumbfounded by this statement, but when the alimon started heading towards his skull, he soon realized what the dinosaur had meant. "I shall grant you your wish."

"No! That's not what I meant!" The Spinosaurus screamed, shaking his snout in desperation, trying hard to dislodge the alimon from his snout. But the alimon gripped tightly. He positioned himself between the monster's eyes and he pulled back his paw. The Spinosaur's eyes widened in horror, and that's all he had time for when Dynamo drove his sharp talons and strong paw right into the skull of the animal. The brain was completely ripped out.

"See? I cut it out for you." Dynamo sneered almost as evilly as Chomper as he held the brain in his paw, which wasn't much of a sight, relative to size. The Spinosaurus didn't respond, or even hear the alimon's grisly comment. As soon as the brain was ripped out, his eyes had clouded to gray, and then became a solid bright white. The alimon chief jumped off and landed on the ground nearby, and turned around in time to see the giant fall down. Its mouth remained open, and the tongue hung out. The same horrified look was still etched on the dinosaur's face.

"Congratulations." Said a cold voice from behind. Dynamo whirled around and snarled at who was confronting him. "I couldn't have done it better myself." The voice laughed as the figure approached. "Well done, Siria." The figure, Gris, said, jeering.

"Gris..." Dynamo growled at the mention of his former name. "How dare you call me that..." He reared onto his hind legs. "How dare you!"

"Touchy touchy." Gris said, shaking a single talon back and forth as though the alimon had done something bad and was being scolded. "You shouldn't let the past get in the way. After all, it is not the past that you should be concerned with now, Siria."

Dynamo leapt forward, and knocked the evil alimon down. "Don't you dare call me that! You know I gave up that name after you..." His voice trailed off and was replaced in heavy puffs of angry breaths.

"After I what..?" Gris asked, grinning menacingly. "After I betrayed you in the most brutal way?" He laughed. "Oh and don't worry..she felt no pain...after a half hour passed anyway."

At this Dynamo let out a ferocious roar and bit down onto Gris's neck. The gray alimon's eyes widened in shock as he felt the teeth of one of his own kind sink into his thick neck. He narrowed his eyes, and struck out with his right paw, knocking Dynamo onto the ground. Dynamo quickly recovered, and lunged forward. Gris grinned, and lunged forward as well, and they locked talons together as they met each other's lunge attack.

"I..will..never...forgive you...for what you've...done!" Dynamo screeched as he tried to knock the gray alimon to the floor.

"So I 'accidentally' messed up and gave your sister the wrong 'potion'. So sue me!" Gris said mockingly, knowing very well that Dynamo knew he was lying. It was an intentional situation.

"That was no accident!" Dynamo roared.

Gris applied as much strength as he could into Dynamo, squeezing his opponent's talons in his vice-like grip. Dynamo responded by pushing harder. It would seem the two were evenly match in power, but neither would give way. Gris finally pulled a dirty trick and lifted one foot and delivered a powerful kick to one of Dynamo's legs. The chief roared in pain and one of his legs gave way, hitting the ground. Releasing one paw, Gris struck down onto Dynamo, forcing him to hit the floor with tremendous force. He let out a cry of pain. He looked up and glared.

"That...wasn't fair." He said.

Gris grinned evilly. "Life isn't fair, Siria." His smile broadened, knowing that Dynamo's original name made him seethe with rage.

"I told you never to call me by that name!" Dynamo called out, jumping to his feet. He charged forward, and slammed into Gris, knocking him to the ground once more.

"Now now..." Loc said as he approached Ali. "Why don't you just give up? I promise to kill you quickly and as painless as I can." If one could reach his mind, they would know the red carnotaur was lying through his teeth.

Ali was laying on the ground with a few gashes in her sides. But other than that she was relatively unharmed, and seemed mostly tired than weak from loss of blood. She bared her plant-eating teeth at the predator as she placed one foot on the ground to try and push herself up. But her body was too exhausted and she fell back down, her head landing right next to the edge of the water's rim.

Loc smiled at her feeble effort to get up. "I see you are still defient, that you still have some fire in your heart, if you know what I mean." He approached her slowly. "But all fires must be extinguished." He bared his teeth and lowered his head near Ali's head. Considering just how close he was, Ali knew that even if she did pull away, in her current state she would not be able to avoid a bite should Loc decide to launch his attack right there and then.

"And it's your turn to be extinguished." Loc hissed, opening his jaws wider, and tensing up for the death blow. Ali closed her eyes and waited, but nothing happened. As she opened them, she noticed Loc was being dragged away.

Ali raised her head as high as she could, and noticed Ducky pulling on a tough vine that was wrapped around the sharptooth's leg. Ali could only watch as Ducky jumped into the water, taking the sharptooth with her.

Loc's eyes widened slightly as he realized where they were. They were underwater, in one of the biggest lakes in the Great Valley. The swimmer was pulling him to the deepest part of the lake, around the middle of it. The sharptooth struggled to pull his leg free, but the knot was too strong. Ducky started to feel the effects of lack of oxygen in a few minutes, and started to swim faster. Loc also started to feel the need for a breath, and started to kick harder, hoping to hit the swimmer.

Ducky searched frantically around the bottom of the lake for something to secure the sharptooth to. She finally found something. A large log that had fallen during an earthquake. It was large enough and heavy enough to keep the red meat-eater from returning to the surface. She pulled harder as she approached the log and wrapped the end around the trunk. As she did this, she didn't realize some of the thick vine loops were encircling her leg as well. She tied the knot, and smiled slyly at Loc before swimming away.

It was this time that she realized something was wrong. She couldn't swim up! She felt her leg struggling to get free of the vine's grasp. She quickly turned around and noticed her leg was caught in the binding. She gasped, a big mistake. She felt panic rise up as she felt the water enter her lungs, slowly suffocating her. She struggled to pull her leg out, and Loc also struggled to get free, already taking in very deep breaths as panic settled in.

From above the surface, Ali watched in horror as the bubbles started to rise, creating an active white foam at the surface of the water. "Ducky!" She cried out, trying to get up.

"Ali!"

Ali would have jumped at that surprise shout if she could. She turned around and saw Littlefoot. The dinosaur was already dealt some blows, but he managed to keep standing. He looked at Ali with concern. "Ali, what's wrong?" He asked.

Ali pointed her head where Ducky had gone off. "Ducky dragged a sharptooth underwater. I think she's in trouble."

Littlefoot gasped as he saw the white foams. "Ducky!" He was about to jump in himself when he noticed the bubbles had vanished. His heart filled with dread. This could only mean two things: Ducky found a way to escape, or she was dead. "No..." He walked into the water, and went near the middle of the lake. He gulped and took in a deep breath and poked his head into the water. He looked around until he spotted two bodies. His eyes widened. Both Ducky and the red sharptooth were floating, only restrained by the vine that bound them to the lake's floor. They were both unmoving, and the eyes were closed. Littlefoot closed his eyes, and felt tears emerge. He knew the truth of what happened.

He lifted his head out of the water, and looked at Ali. The female longneck waited for him to say something, hoping there was still someway for Ducky to be still alive. But her hopes were crushed when Littlefoot shook his head slowly, salty tears already dripping down his face. Ali could only gasp and she could feel tears of her own forming in her eyes. "No...not again."

Littlefoot could only stare at where Ducky was, underneath the water, as he felt flashbacks come. The last tie to his past, the journey to the valley, was severed. Ducky was the only remaining of the original gang, and now she was gone. He was the only one left. He gave Ali a sideways glance. She would be next. Littlefoot lowered his head, and bared his teeth, unsure of what to do. A confusion and confliction complicated his thoughts, his motivation. His thoughts for revenge seemed to double in intensity now as he recalled the adventures he had with his friends, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike. They had lived together for years, but it only took a few days for Chomper to tear them away from him.

His eyes squeezed so tightly they felt like they were going to burst inside of him. "Why...why did you have to go and do that..." He whispered to the floating dead body beneath the water that was Ducky. "Why did you have to risk your life...for that?" His voice was broken. "Why...?"

Ali felt defeated. She was at a loss of what to do. What could she do? She finally managed to get onto her feet, and limped towards Littlefoot. "Littlefoot I..."

Littlefoot suddenly shot her a glare. Ali stopped herself, feeling confused. Why was he glaring at her? "You..." He said darkly. "Why didn't you go in and save her?"

Ali gulped, feeling a bit frightened by Littlefoot's anger. "I-I couldn't...that sharptooth she drug away...he had wounded me badly..." She said, struggling to speak. "I couldn't get up..."

"Why didn't you try and stop her!" Littlefoot snapped, rounding on the female longneck.

Ali felt fear rise inside of her, as well as a tinge of anger. She narrowed her eyes slightly. "I...I couldn't." She said, not being able to think too clearly. She took a step back, and winced at the pain she felt in her legs.

Littlefoot bared his teeth. "You couldn't...or you wouldn't...?" He demanded, narrowing his eyes to near slits. Ali couldn't answer. She could only give him a confused look. "You planned for this, didn't you!" Littlefoot was in such a terrible state that he himself couldn't think clearly. And Ali knew it.

"N-Now Littlefoot...calm down..." She said as gently as she could. "I would never have let Ducky die if I could help it..."

Suddenly Littlefoot reared onto his hind legs and stomped downward, almost causing Ali to lose her balance. Ali looked at him fearfully. She knew that was a threat. Littlefoot's never threatened her before, and it worried her. Could Ducky's death have severed the last bit of sanity inside the male longneck's head? "YOU LET HER DIE!" Littlefoot screamed.

"Littlefoot!" Ali yelled angrily. "I didn't let her die!"

"Then why didn't you go after her!" Littlefoot yelled in a demanding voice.

"I told you, I was too injured to get up! I tried!"

"YOU'RE LYING!" Littlefoot shrieked and he charged forward. What happened next no one could have predicted. Littlefoot rammed his body into Ali's already injured body. She screamed in pain as her legs gave way and she fell to the ground. The back of her head slammed so hard against a rock that there was a sickening cracking sound, and some blood trinkled down the side of her face. And she just laid there, still and unmoving.

Littlefoot stood over her, glaring harshly at her immobile form. He panted heavily as he just stood there, staring. Then the anger inside of him started to melt away. Then realization slowly hit him, and he started shaking. Tears formed in the back of his eyes. "N-No..I didn't just..." He lowered his head, and nudged Ali's head gently. "Ali..? Ali...?" He whispered, and got no response.

Tears started to drip down his face. He nudged her again, and noticed she was beginning to feel cold. "I'm sorry Ali...Please...just get up.." He begged her as he continued to try and stir her. "Don't go..."

But his efforts were in vain. He knew the horrible truth. Her head had hit the ground with enough force to shatter her skull. She was dead as soon as her head slammed into the rock. And he knew that it was all his fault. He had murdered his best friend in cold blood. He could feel his sanity leaving him as he whispered, "I-I killed her..."

"I'm quite impressed with you Littlefoot." An evil voice said from behind. Littlefoot turned his head around, and snarled. It was General Chomper! The evil tyrant looked at the body of the longneck at Littlefoot's feet. "I watched the whole thing." He grinned. "Not bad at all..."

"I'll kill you..." Littlefoot threatened, and reared onto his hind legs and slammed down, hoping to crush the traitorous sharptooth under his weight. But Chomper, being smaller, moved fast enough to avoid any injury. "I must kill you! I must make you pay!"

"Merciless." General Chomper inquired. "You're becoming like me, Littlefoot."

Littlefoot's eyes widened, but then narrowed them again. "I am nothing like you!" He shouted as he charged forward. General Chomper only stood there and laughed as Littlefoot bounded towards him, as though he wasn't scared at all.

While the fighting continued, a form stirred nearby. In the foliage, a familiar dinosaur rose up. As it walked out of the foliage to see what was going on, the light revealed it to be Rex, the real Rex. He rubbed his head slowly. "Wh-What happened?" He whispered. But it suddenly came back to him. He quickly looked over and saw the fighting. He saw no signs of Chomper anywhere.

As he wandered around the battlefield, distancing himself enough not to be noticed but close enough to examine, he eventually found Littlefoot charging at General Chomper. Rex gasped. "Littlefoot! No!" He jumped into the air and took off, flying as fast as he can to reach Littlefoot before it was too late. 


	55. The Awakening of the Second Flamebreath

(A/N: Almost done. Only 5 more chapters to go!)

Part VI: The Revelation

"Get away!" A green velociraptor shouted as it dove off from a small cliff, and brought out its feet. The sickle claws dug deep into the opponent's, another carnotaurus, in the neck. The claws sliced the jugular veins open, causing mass amounts of blood to seep through. The carnotaurus roared in pain and staggered back. The velociraptor attacked again, this time slicing at the second jugular vein. The larger dinosaur cried out again and struck out in fury at the smaller dinosaur. The green dinosaur dodged the attack with ease. "You've got to do better than that!"

The carnotaurus snarled, but the pain in its neck prevented it from taking another step to attack. The giant's heart was pounding too fast. Blood was quickly spewing all over the ground, and staining the scales of its massive body. Dizziness quickly set in, and the dinosaur fell forward, crashing into the ground with such tremendous force it felt like a miniature earthquake.

The dinosaur that attacked the carnotaurus was Yu. He wiped his two hands together as he watched his work completed before his eyes. Suddenly he heard something snap behind him. He quickly turned around to find a certain black velociraptor standing there, sneering at him. Yu growled, baring his teeth. "Jackal!"

Jackal laughed at the younger raptor's retort. "Ah, little Yu." He said, strangely calm and almost friendly-like. "You always did have...a bit of spunk sort-of-speak. But in the end, you were always the runt." He pointed at Yu somewhat accusingly. "You thought your little spying game would save your friends! What a joke!"

Yu pulled his head back as he released a warning hiss from his lips. "A joke am I...?" He asked in a soft-spoken voice. He took in a deep breath. "I'll show you a joke." He lunged forward, striking out with one of his hands. Jackal's eyes narrowed, and he grabbed Yu's hand, and tossed him into the ground.

"Sorry runt." Jackal laughed. "But you'll have to do much better than that!"

Sandstorm growled at the dark red velociraptor he's just encountered. The unmistaken dark red skin belonged to his nemesis, Red. He was the very velociraptor who had him kicked out, the very one who nearly killed him. Now Red might be a bit bigger and a bit stronger, but Sandstorm was smarter, and plus he was a veteran. He has had more experience in battles than Red.

"Red...finally...we meet for another round." Sandstorm said, flexing his claws. He was more than ready to go toe to toe with this sickleclaw. But the only response he got from the other sickleclaw was a cold laughter. "What's so funny, you ignorant fool!"

"You are, old one." Red commented, scratching his chin threateningly. "Do you honestly think a middle-aged raptor like yourself stands a chance against me?" Lips curled back as he grinned maliciously. "I think not. I think not..."

Sandstorm chuckled half-heartedly. "Yeah yeah...you're not so tough yourself." Red's eyes widened. "What? It's true!" He smiled, putting his hands on his hips. "Why if it weren't for Blueye's instructions, you'd be lost half the time!"

"Did someone call me?" Sandstorm immediately stopped laughing. Walking out into the open now was Blueye herself. The pale yellow velociraptor approached Red, who had turned to greet her. "Is there something you want, Red?" She inquired as she stood directly in front of the dark red dinosaur now.

"Yes there is something." Red said with a hint of annoyance. He pointed at Sandstorm. "You can help me destroy him!"

Sandstorm hissed and took a step back. If this was going to be a two and one battle, he's screwed! But it would also prove that Red was a coward. A smile snaked across the old raptor's mouth.

"What's so funny?" Red demanded.

Sandstorm wiped a tear from his eye. "You. Why don't you fight me on a fair one and one battle?" He licked the tear from his claw. "Or would you rather have a girl help you do some of your dirty work for you?" He couldn't help but laugh. Unfortunately, he didn't see Blueye's expression darken dramatically. He didn't notice the female rushing towards him at great speed...until it was too late. The pale yellow creature slammed her elbow into his stomach so hard it knocked the wind out of him. Sandstorm's eyes flew open, and he clutched his abdomen, falling to his knees. He grinded his teeth and eyes were now shut tightly as pain swelled in his belly.

Blueye wasn't finished yet. She turned around, and tensed up the muscles in her leg. She struck forward, whipping the tan sickleclaw across the head, knocking him to the ground, on his stomach. "And do you have something against females, you sexist!"

Sandstorm looked up at her. He struggled to get up, and staggered onto his feet. He eventually regained his balance. "Uhh...no." He finally said as soon as he could breathe again. "But Red...you are still a coward...if you and her fight me at once."

"Then we shall fix that." Red said, his feathers swaying in the wind. "Why don't you fight Blueye first, and once she weakens you, I'll finish you off."

Rex flew as fast as he could, but he knew he wasn't going to make it on time as Littlefoot prepared to slam into Chomper. Rex wanted to stop his longneck friend from making a huge mistake. But would he get there in time? Time seemed to slow down as he was fast approaching the charging longneck. He beat his wings faster. They were being beaten so hard he thought that the wind was going to cut right through them, and render him flightless.

"I'll get you!" Littlefoot shouted just before he was about to make contact with Chomper. His head slammed against Chomper's chest, toppling the Carnotaurus onto his back. Littlefoot reared onto his hind legs, and slammed down his full weight onto the ground.

Chomper had rolled out of the way, and, using his powerful legs, pushed himself up off the ground, and roared. "That was good, Littlefoot. But not good enough!" The blue sharptooth lunged forward, brandishing his sharp horns. Littlefoot bared his teeth, and braced himself. Chomper turned his head to the side, pointing the end of one of his horns towards the Apatosaurus. Then he struck out as fast as he could. Littlefoot screamed as the horn made contact with his shoulder, slicing into it, leaving a long gash. In an attempt to protect himself, Littlefoot brought down his head fast, slamming his forehead against Chomper's.

Chomper backed off, shaking his head, desperately trying to get rid of the pain. He then growled under his breath. "I'll make you pay for what you did to me in the past!" He lunged forward, landing on top of Littlefoot's back! The longneck instantly reared up, trying to knock the sharptooth off. Chomper opened up his mouth and clamped down onto the spine of Littlefoot's back, and applied pressure.

Littlefoot's eyes widened as he felt the predator's teeth and claws slice and dice across his back. He could feel the blood trinkling down. With a mighty roar of his own, he slammed against a thick tree truck, forcing the carnivore to lose his grip and fall onto the ground. "I told you, we did not purposely cause you to lose sight in your real parent! Not that he has done a good job raising you anyway!"

The Carnotaurus's eyes almost seemed to glow red at that statement. "How dare you! Don't ever talk about my father like that!"

Littlefoot seethed at this comment and struck Chomper with his tail. "What about my father!" He pressed his snout against Chomper's muzzle. "You stole his life!"

Chomper blinked, and then opened up his mouth and snapped down, hoping his teeth would latch onto Littlefoot's currently vulnerable head. But the longneck quickly pulled away before the teeth had time to meet the flesh. "I was merely getting even with you. You and your stupid friends destroyed my life!" He took a step forward. "And to think I actually once called you my friends!" He charged forward, and sank his teeth into Littlefoot's leg.

"Don't you dare talk about my friends, sharptooth!" The male longneck screamed as he struggled to get his leg free of the sharptooth's grip.

"STOP!" A voice shouted from the skies. Littlefoot and Chomper both looked up to see a blue figure flying down towards them. Littlefoot squinted, trying to figure out who it was. But Chomper's eyes were already widened in shock.

"Rex? But how...I thought he was under my control..." He spoken almost shakingly, still latched onto the Apatosaur's leg.

"Rex?" Littlefoot whispered, not even registering any emotion as he looked up and saw the dracovol he knew from hatching day dove towards them.

"I SAID STOP!" Rex repeated, bringing out his feet and aimed them for Chomper's head. In an instant, they made contact, forcing Chomper to let go of Littlefoot's leg as he was knocked away across the ground. Rex dropped down and landed in front of Littlefoot, but keeping his attention on the Carnotaurus. "Just stop this!" Rex folded out his wings, and spread out his arms, a posture that showed Chomper he wasn't going to allow him to pass unless he fought him first.

'But why would he do this...?' Chomper asked, staring at the dracovol before him. 'I don't want to fight him... Why did he change back?' A tear of anger strolled down his face. 'What went wrong!' Chomper climbed back onto his feet, and walked forward. "Why would you do this Rex? Betray both sides, eh?"

"I never betrayed Littlefoot!" Rex announced, sending a wave of shock through the other dinosaurs' minds. "I was being controlled by my flamebreath pastlife!"

Littlefoot narrowed his eyes, and lowered his head to look at Rex straight in the eyes. "So it really WAS you doing all the thinking!" He said threateningly.

Rex swirled around to see the angry longneck advancing on him. "N-N-N-No i-it's not like that Littlefoot!" He stammered as he backed away.

"If he was your pastlife," Littlefoot inquired, "Wouldn't that mean that you and the flamebreath have the same mind, and therefore...be the same being?"

"I s-suppose..." Rex pondered. "But I didn't want to do all those things, Littlefoot!" He tried to coax his longneck friend from long ago to calm down. "I was helpless inside my mind! I was helpless as the flamebreath took over my body, forcing me to do and say things I didn't mean!" He cried out desperately.

The longneck stared at him for a few seconds before baring his teeth, narrowing his eyes into slits. "I don't believe you. You're just trying to trick me again." Rex felt his heart skip a beat as Littlefoot prepared to attack him. "If you want to prove you are speaking the truth, then defeat me without inflicting damage on me yourself!"

Chomper grinned at this predicament. "This outta be good..." But he glared to himself. As good as this could get, Chomper did not want to stick around for very long, in case Rex was successful in getting Littlefoot back on his side. So the sharptooth turned around and fled. He was worried about something else as well. He recalled Pterano saying something about Cera. And he wanted to find out just what that stupid flyer was talking about.

Pterano was flying over the battlefield. He hadn't participated in the fight that much. He was busy looking for something. His sharp eyes scanned the ground below him, searching desperately for the one thing that could change everything that has happened. And it wasn't the Stone of Cold Fire.

"What are you looking for?" Pterano let out a surprised cry as Gorjak flew in beside him. The black sharp toothed flyer looked at the larger flyer beside him curiously. "I haven't seen you fight that much. I thought you agreed that you would help to fight."

Pterano glared softly. "Yes...yes I did." He returned to looking for the thing. "But I remembered I realized that there was away to stop this. And I'm searching for it."

Gorjak grinned almost maliciously. "What? The Stone of Cold Fire?" Pterano whacked him across the head. "Owch!"

"No, you idiot!" Pterano said sternly. "Not the Stone of Cold Fire! Something far more powerful! Something that could alter reality as it is!"

Gorjak's expression changed to that of shocked and mystified. "And that would be...?"

"A flamebreath." Pterano said as he continued surveying the valley. "And I know just where we can find one." He suddenly gasped. "I found it!" He quickly dove down into the deep forward.

The black flyer shook his head as a horrid smell filled his nostrils. But he dove down nonetheless to follow the pteranodon in the thick brush. The two flyers landed on the ground, and Pterano took a look around. "Why are we here? Is this it?" Gorjak questioned the larger flyer. As they looked around, at first all they could see was blood on the ground and foliage. Nothing too unusual could be seen.

"She's got to be around here somewhere..." Pterano looked around, putting his wing over his eye to get a better look. "She has got to be! But where to..." His voice trailed off as he saw something poking out of the bushes. "There!" He flew over a section of brush, and used his feeth to pull on the twigs and leaves. Gorjak flew over and helped out, pulling back what he could. In a matter of minutes, they cleared away enough plant life to get a glimpse of what was underneath the brush.

It was Cera's rotting corpse. The sight almost made Gorjak and Pterano gag. Much of her flesh had been eaten away, revealing the skeleton inside. Her head was completely crushed into an unrecognizable shape. Maggots squirmed inside the remaining organs she still had and flies clung to the few shears of skin that still clung to her rotting body. Coagulated blood covered in the ground around her and filled her rib cavity, and dripped off her ribs.

"I'm gonna be sick..." Gorjak whispered to himself, holding his stomach.

Pterano gulped and slowly approached the corpse. "Th-This is it..." He said. "Now we just need away to awaken the spirit within..." He stammered, and gulped again.

"How do we do that?" Gorjak asked, righting against the urge to vomit right there and right then. "And will it work?"

"I'll find a way." Pterano replied, ignoring the way the black flyer sounded as he spoke. "Cera's pastlife, a flamebreath, has a special gift that will turn the tide on this battle, and force the sharptooth to submit." Pterano explained to Gorjak. "She'll change everything, but at cost."

"What do you mean?"

"She can change things so that they never happened." He said, rather sullenly. "But to do so, someone must make a wish, and when they make a wish, they lose their life." Gorjak's eyes widened in horror. "You see, flamebreaths need the lifeforce of the wisher for big wishes like changing things so they never happened."

Gorjak gulped, still fighting the illness he felt in the pit of his stomach now. "So whoever is going to make the wish...will die?" Pterano nodded gravely. "But who's going to make the wish?"

Pterano looked up at the starry night. "I-I was planning too... After all..It's the least I could do to give back to this herd..." He looked away, a few tears streaming down his face. "I betrayed them, long ago...Now I want to redeem myself."

"By throwing your life away!" Gorjak cried out, horrified.

"What else is there?" Pterano nearly sobbed. "I have got nothing to live for now! Petrie, the only family I had left, is gone!"

As his tears fell to the ground, a mild glowing illuminated from the corpse. Pterano and Gorjak quickly turned their attention to Cera's dead body as the glowing continued to brighten. The flies flew away and the maggots scrurried across the floor. The glowing got brighter, and the flyers had to shield their eyes from the light intensity. Then, right before their very eyes, from out of the body came a huge creature. It was so large that Pterano and Gorjak had to take to the sky just to look at it straight in the face.

It folded its wings to the side, and opened up its mouth to speak. Sharp teeth lined the inside of her mouth, and a forked tongue slithered out like a snake to taste the bitter air. "Who has summoned me?" It spoke in a female's voice, enchanting and haunting at the same time.

While this spectacle was going on, pairs of watchful eyes glared at the scene playing out before them. A low growl escaped their throats. "This isn't good." One of them, Ichy, said.

"We should tell the boss!" Another, Lizzie, said.

With that, the bellydraggers they were riding, Dil and Mel, turned around and ran as fast as their heavy bodies could carry them to search for General Chomper. This was news they had to tell him. They knew that if Chomper didn't do something to stop this, they would lose the battle for sure!

"I just hope we get to him in time." Mel said softly.

"Don't worry we will." Dil assured him. "We will." 


	56. Rise of the Dead

(A/N Sorry for the delay. On with chapter 56!)

Part VI: The Revelation

Upon recieving no response, but just a couple of astonished and awed stares, the dragon lowered her massive head towards the ground. She pressed her snout gently next to Pterano's long beak, and then positioned her head so that her eye was only a few inches in front of the sharp end of the beak. She seemed to be examining him, or reading his thoughts. Pterano felt small and weak in front of this gigantic flyer. "Are you not going to give me a response?" She asked the tiny flyer. "Or shall I bid farewell now?"

Pterano finally found his voice. "N-No! No!" He cried. "I was just...I..." He stammered, his knees knocking against each other as he shook. "You see..."

"He wants to make a wish." Gorjak replied, looking slightly calmer than Pterano. "I-I...I guess he's just a bit...a bit... Oh what's the word...?"

"Nervous?" The flamebreath asked.

"Yeah! That's it!" Gorjak said, nodding his head quickly. "Nervous."

Pterano narrowed his eyes. "I-I am not n-nervous!" He said almost defiently. "I...I'm just...a bit..." His voice faded. He couldn't think of what else to say. The dragon lifted her head up, and looked down at both the flyers, trying to determine what to do. She had laid dormant inside the threehorn's body for years, and this was the first time in years she was awakened from her slumber, and she was just told they want a wish. She sighed mentally. What selfish wish would they possibly want?

The dragon smiled slightly, but the flyers couldn't see it. She was so sick of animals making selfish wishes that she decided to steal the life force of the wisher, and say she needed it to make big wishes come true. She didn't do this out of cruelty. She just wanted some more animals to make wishes for everyone, and not just for a single being; themselves. But sadly, she did realize that once she had done this, there was no way to reverse it. She had slowly realized that it was she who was being selfish now. Now she cannot undo the spell she put on herself. She felt ashamed.

She finally spoke after a few long minutes of cold silence. "What wish do you want?" She asked, her eyes glowing slightly. "I shall grant you any wish you want. But be careful: a simple wish I can grant free, but make a complex wish, I need lifeforce of thee."

Pterano nodded. "Yes, we know that." His claws fumbled together in a nervous manner. "I know just what I want to." He took in a deep breath, and prepared for the ultimate sacrifice. "I wish that..."

"WAIT!" Gorjak cried out. He quickly grabbed Pterano's beak, and squeezed it shut, preventing the flyer from talking. Pterano glared at the black flyer, and squirmed to get free, his voice nothing but mutters and indistinguishable gibberish. "I have a wish!" He looked down at the larger flyer, who looked up at him with angry and shocked eyes. "I'm sorry. I want to go first." He said, smiling slightly.

The dragon blinked, but nodded, and said, "Okay then. Proceed."

Gorjak nodded, and lowered his head. He released his grip on Pterano. Before he could get a word out, Pterano shouted, "What do you think you are doing! I am the one who should sacrifice my life, not you!"

The dark flyer laughed softly, grinning. "I already said I was sorry. I cannot let you throw your life away. I may not know you that well, but I won't allow you to go through with this." He turned his attention back up to the female flamebreath. "Flamebreath, I wish that the loved ones who perished in this valley thanks to the sharptooth horde would come back and combat against this enemy!"

Pterano's mouth dropped open. "What...?" He said, staring at Gorjak, unblinking. "You're wishing that..."

Gorjak turned to Pterano. "The Living Dead are immortal, Pterano. They cannot die, because they are already dead."

Pterano felt color fade away from his face. "Y-You can't be serious... You didn't just...you didn't just wish that...the living dead...would come here... D-D-Did you?"

Gorjak smiled, almost slightly darkly, and turned his back to Pterano, and looked up at the flamebreath. "I am ready." He announced, and closed his eyes.

The dragon nodded. "As you desire. I shall grant thy wish!" She held up her paws, the sharp talons glowing with a bright yellow energy. Electricity crackled from it. As the flyers watched, the energy became larger, and more vibrant and active. The dragon's entire body started to glow. She then lowered one paw down, and tapped her claw in Gorjak's head. The flyer's eyes widened, and he let out a scream as electricity invaded his body. Pterano watched, horrified, as Gorjak convulsed right in front of him. Gorjak's body glowed bright yellow for a few seconds, and then suddenly he fell to the ground, the light fading.

The dragon pulled her claw away, leaving the dead body of Gorjak just laying there. She then held her paw in the air, and many hundreds of little bolts of energy crackled out, shooting their energy into the ground all across the Great Valley. This process lasted a few seconds. When all the energy in her paw was gone, she went back on all fours. "It is done." With that, the dragon disappeared into a glow of yellow light, and escaped back inside Cera's dead, rotting body.

Pterano ignored the dragon's words. He was too busy staring in shock at Gorjak's electrocuted body. He was now entirely black, completely charred by the electrical current. His eyes were wide open, and pure white, no pupil in sight. His mouth was open as if he was still screaming. When Pterano looked harder, he could see a bit of blood leaking from underneath the body, possibly coming from the head where the claw had shot electricity into. Pterano sniffed the air, and flinched. The stench of cooked flesh was apparent in the air. He started breathing through his mouth.

Then Gorjak's body started to glow once more. As the pteranodon watched, the body transformed into a solid white light, and began to fall apart into little white circles. These particles then scattered across the sky, creating a miniature light show. Pterano watched as the lights shot out into outer space, and then vanished before his eyes.

"Gorjak..." Pterano whispered. "Why did you do that?" But he knew he would get no answer. Letting out a soft mournful sigh, he got up, and prepared to fly back to Littlefoot. But a noise caught his attention. He listened for it again, but it didn't come. He shrugged it off, and opened up his wing span to take off. But then he heard something that stopped him in his tracks.

"And where do you think you are going?"

"That voice..it can't be..." Pterano whispered, shaking. He then stiffened, and turned his head. "AHHHHHH!"

There, right before him, was Cera. But she wasn't healed or anything. Her head was still crushed, her body still torn. The maggots were still inside, eating away at her organs. Her mouth was open, and a few flies darted out, making Pterano feel like he was going to throw up. The threehorn was clearly not breathing, but she was standing, as though some outside force was assisting her.

Although she had no eyes, somehow she could still see, as though by magic. She took a few steps towards Pterano, her rotting face only inches from Pterano's own face. "Why are you here?" The threehorn asked worriedly, surprising the pteranodon. "Don't you know Chomper's back?"

Pterano gulped, and looked up at Cera's disgustingly deformed head. "Y-Yes o-o-o-of course I know-know..."

Although no expression could be placed physically, the sound of Cera's voice indicated just how she felt. "What is the matter with you? You act like you've seen a Living Dead." She laughed at that comment. Cera still didn't trust Pterano that much, but she felt she could rely on him in this time of crisis.

"W-Well..I just did..." Pterano squeaked.

"What...?" The triceratops asked.

Pterano covered his face, and pointed where some water was that would provide reflection for her. Cera walked towards it, and looked into it. She could see her mutilated face, her rotting body, up and walking. She could see the little bugs inside her. She could see her own torn muscles and her slightly exposed brain.

It took her only a second for the confirmation before her to sink in. She was the Living Dead that Pterano was talking about. She did the only thing she could think of: scream.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The scream echoed for miles. It was as though the whole valley could hear her. As she screamed, Pterano felt the ground rumble beneath his feet. The ground seemed to almost come alive right before him. He screamed loudly himself as rotting bodies emerged from the ground, shaking the dirt off of them. They were all victims of the sharptooth invasion, and they were all pretty torn up. A few places dismembered limbs also came to life, crawling out of the ground, dragging itself along the dirt.

Soon everyone in the valley, sharptooth and leaf-eater alike, stopped, stared in shock, and in somewhat horror, as the ground burst open, revealing lots of corpses, walking on their own, both leaf-eater and meat-eater.

"What the..?" Blueye asked herself, backing away as a torn-up Hyp rose from the ground, and walked towards her menacingly. She backed away, and allowed fear to grip hold of her heart. "I-It can't be!"

"But it is..." Sandstorm whispered in awe as he watched the Hyp zombie attack Blueye. "It's real."

Red watched in horror as Blueye found herself being mauled by a dead dinosaur. He quickly turned around and roared. "You! What have you done!" He advanced on the middle-aged velociraptor. "What did you just do!"

"I did nothing." Sandstorm said defiantly, glaring.

Red gripped him by the neck. "Liar!" He raised his paw to slash Sandstorm, but then something gripped his arm before he could make the swing. "Wha...?" He turned over and screamed when he saw the rotting corpse of Mutt pulling on his arm, growling mercilessly. "AAAAAHHHHH!" Red screamed again, releasing his grip on Sandstorm.

Sandstorm looked at Mutt and said, "Thank you." He then turned around and took off running.

"L-Littlefoot..." Rex pleaded as Littlefoot prepared to fight. "Please don't make me fight you... Surely there must be another way for you to trust me again." He almost had tears come out of his eyes.

Littlefoot didn't buy into this so-called 'act', and said, "Sorry, but yes, that's the only way..." He kicked up the dirt with his foot, a sign he's ready to charge. "Okay, sharptooth, prepare to..." Then he felt the ground shake beneath him. "What...?"

Rex felt it too. "What's going on?" He asked, but not expecting a reply. The dracovol searched all over for the sound. Suddenly General Chomper shouted something.

"THEY'RE HEADING THIS WAY! STAMPEDE!"

Suddenly, just as he said that, something charged into the clearing, knocking Chomper onto the ground. Littlefoot and Rex looked upon this in astonishment. The carnotaurus got up onto his feet, and turned to face the one who knocked him down. His eyes widened, and he backed away. "N-No...it can't be... Y-You're dead..." Chomper backed away some more, shaking from fright. "I-I killed you."

Littlefoot gasped as he saw who it was who attacked Chomper. He gulped as the figure turned to face him. That face, he'd recognize it anywhere. Although the body was torn and mangled from when Chomper took this poor dinosaur's life, Littlefoot could still recognize it.

"Sh-Sh-Shorty...?"

Shorty smiled. "Miss me, Littlefoot?"

Littlefoot smiled in return, and nodded. "Yes..I have."

Jackal and Yu were just about to face off when something interrupted their battle. Yu had backed away and took off to save himself, leaving Jackal to his doom when a couple Living Dead attacked Jackal. Yu raced across the forest, almost scared half to death by what he had just seen. "Living Dead? Here? Now? How?" So many questions, his mind was boggled.

He then bumped into something, and slammed back into the ground. He rubbed his head, and looked up. "Who's there?" He asked, and then his mouth dropped open. He didn't recognize who it was, but it was indeed another Living Dead, a triceratops this time. This one had a crushed up head, but he could still tell it was snarling. It was black with light grey head and underside. The skin around its eyes were also black.

"Where is Chomper?" The figure demanded. "Take me to him, you good-for-nothing sharptooth!" He did a mach charge to both scare Yu and show him that he was being serious.

Yu stammered, "O-O-Okay, s-sir... I'll try to lead you to him."

Another snarl came from the torn throat of the black threehorn. "No, not try. You WILL!" He pointed one of his slightly shattered horn at Yu. "And if you mislead me, I will impale you! Go that?"

Yu gulped and nodded. "Y-Yes..."

The threehorn smiled almost evilly. "Okay. Let's go!"

"Chomper!" Dil cried out.

"Hey we got news!" Mel shouted.

"Where are you?" Ichy screamed.

"Chomper!" Lizzie exclaimed.

The bellydraggers and sharpbeaks had been looking for Chomper for a while, but they have had no luck in finding the sharptooth. They had not yet seen the Living Dead, and they were so preoccupied they had not heard Cera's scream.

"I don't get it..." Mel said, rolling his eyes. "I thought he was here." He stopped walking. "I need to rest."

"Rest!" Ichy said, perching ontop of Mel's nose. "Are you that lazy!"

Mel narrowed his eyes dangerously. He bared his teeth and let out a guttural growl. "What are you, my mother?" Ichy widened his eyes and gulped. He quickly flew off the angry croc's mouth and went back to Dil.

Dil sighed. "Mel's right about one thing, Ichy. We do need to rest."

"Why?" Ichy asked.

"Yeah, shouldn't we still be looking for General Chomper?" Lizzie asked. "We don't want to be late with our report."

"Hey! You sharpbeaks ride us, so of course you aren't tired!" Dil said angrily. "But we bellydraggers have been walking for a long time and we aren't as young as we used to be!"

Mel nodded. "Yeah, you two trying walking for many hours and see how tired you feel afterwards."

Ichy growled, but acknowledged what the bellydraggers told him. "All right, all right! We'll rest up for a few minutes."

"But after a few minutes, we continue searching." Lizzie said.

"All right, all right." Dil and Mel said at once before they curled up slightly, and closed their eyes. The sharpbeaks shook their heads, but also decided to rest as well. They lay next to the bellydraggers, and lay down on their stomachs.

But what they were unaware of was a pair of glowing white eyes watching them as they slept. They walked closer to the sleeping group, teeth bared menacingly. They casted a shadow across the pair, causing Lizzie to stir in her sleep.

"Hmm...who turned out the light...?" She murmured before opening one eye. She stared in horror at the creature standing before her. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Her scream caused Mel, Dil, and Ichy to jump awake. "Where's the fire!" Ichy said, looking around. He walked over to Lizzie. "Lizzie, what's wrong?"

"What's going on?" Dil said, turning her head left and right, trying to figure out what was going on. "I wish I had good sight!" She shouted to herself.

"Living Dead!" Mel shouted.

Ichy shook his head. "Living Dead? What's he talking about, Lizzie?" The female bird didn't respond. She just pointed a feather in front of her. Ichy sighed and took a look for himself. He almost screamed from fright.

"Living Dead!" He screamed. "Run! Fly!" As the group tried to make their getaway, they soon found themselves being pursued by some of the zombie dinosaurs from the war.

"How can they be alive?" Lizzie asked as she struggled to fly faster.

"Someone made a wish!" Mel shouted.

"It must've been that Pterano character who did this!" Ichy said. They continued running as the zombie dinosaurs started to catch up to them. "We've got to go faster!"

Suddenly they slammed into a hard rock wall. "Oh no..." Lizzie said. "Not the valley wall...not now..."

Mel shivered. "Now we're in for it..."

The group of meat-eaters prepared to stand and fight as the Living Dead sneered, and cornered them up against the wall. From miles away, some of the dinosaurs and other organisms could hear their screams echo as they were viciously and brutally attacked by the zombies. 


	57. Mind Control No More

(A/N I apologize again for my lack of updates. Here's chapter 57! Only 3 more to go! Yay!)

Part VI: The Revelation

General Chomper still stood there, shaking like a leaf from both disbelief and horror as he saw the rotting corpse standing there next to Littlefoot. Despite the gruesome look, Littlefoot immediately gave his step brother a lick on the cheek. He immediately regretted it, and licked a nearby tree to get rid of the taste. Shorty didn't mind. He only giggled as he watched Littlefoot wash his tongue off.

Shorty returned a glaring gaze at Chomper, who only gulped and backed away more. Shorty advanced on him, baring his dirty teeth. In a desperate attempt to try and save himself, Chomper asked almost innocently, "H-Hey...you..you don't remember an-anything, right?" Shorty didn't reply. "Right?"

The brachiosaurus pushed his face against Chomper's. "Forget? How could I NOT forget what you done, you swine!"

"B-Because you're a zombie...?" General Chomper said meekly, but realized his efforts were futile.

Shorty snarled and Littlefoot watched in shock as Shorty bit into Chomper's neck, and lifted him high off the ground. The general gasped and struggled for air. He clawed desperately at the dinosaur's neck, but his short arms could provide little relief. Finally Shorty was so sickened by this squirming monster that he just threw Chomper aside, and ignored the sound of screaming and crashing. Chomper slowly rose to his feet, and retreated.

Littlefoot furrowed his brow in hatred as he watched Chomper run away, tears of anger screaming down his face. "Good riddance..." He growled under his breath. "Serves him right..."

Rex was shaken up by what he had just seen the brachiosaurus do. Never once in his life had he ever seen a longneck use their jaws as a weapon, nor had he ever seen them throw a sharptooth like that. "Wow...Remind me not to get on your bad side." Rex said, facing Shorty directly.

Shorty blinked, and then smiled. "Rex? Is that you?" He slowly approached the dracovol. "It's been a long time... My how you've grown!"

Rex blushed a bit. "Y-Yeah...I've been working out..." Suddenly Littlefoot rushed and placed himself between Rex and Shorty. He gave a look of death at Rex, and Rex couldn't tell if it was a warning look or a threatening look. "What?" He asked.

"Shut up, sharptooth!" Littlefoot snarled.

"Littlefoot? What's going on?"

"Rex betrayed us!" Littlefoot shouted in a frenzy. "He tried to kill me! He tried to kill the others!"

Aghasted, mouth agape, Shorty turned his gaze back at Rex. If he were alive, his heart would be racing. "R-Rex...is this true?" He feared the answer.

"NO! NO!" The dracovol shook his arms from side to side at a very fast rate. "I didn't betray you guys! It was my flamebreath half! He took control of me! I couldn't control myself!"

Littlefoot narrowed his eyes. "A likely story..."

"Am I the only one here confused?" Shorty pondered. "What in the world is a flamebreath?"

A female voice began speaking. While Rex and Shorty were somewhat unfazed, Littlefoot nearly felt his heart stop. "A flamebreath is a mythical creature who looks like a winged dinosaur that can breathe fire." The figure got closer and the voice grew louder. "They can either be a great asset, or a terrible enemy. Because of their power, contact with them is usually forbidden."

"A-A-A-A..." Littlefoot stammered with his voice, his jaw trembling as he tried to speak the name of the dinosaur that just showed up. Coagulated blood still clung to her head, but other than that, she did not look any different than before.

She glared softly at Littlefoot as she approached him slowly. "Hello Littlefoot..." She spoke slowly and sternly, like she was his mother and scolding him for something he did wrong. "Good to see you again." She said somewhat sarcastically. She was not in a particularly good mood now. "Hope you learned to keep that temper under control, eh?"

"A-A-Ali...I'm sorry..." Littlefoot whispered and bowed his head. Tears streamed down his face. "I-I'm so sorry...Please...forgive me..." His head hung lower as he choked back a sob.

Ali rolled her eyes. "Oh will you quit your crying, will you?" Littlefoot lifted up his head. "In case you have forgotten, now is not the time to be all sappy." Littlefoot was confused. This was not the same Ali he knew. Maybe he had forced her to harden in death. Ali turned her attention to Rex. "Rex, do you remember if the flamebreath said anything about..."

Littlefoot's eyes widened and he snapped out of his depression. "WHAT! YOU HONESTLY BELIEVE THAT JERK! HE'S NOTHING BUT A NO GOOD TRAITOR!" Rex winced at his words, and lowered his head. "THAT'S RIGHT! YOU BETTER BE ASHAMED! IT'S TOO LATE FOR ME TO FORGIVE..." Ali shot him a look that shut the longneck up.

"Okay that's enough Littlefoot!" Ali shouted at him, and exposed her teeth to him, something she had hardly ever done in the past. She hardly ever got this mad with him.

"A-Ali...?" Littlefoot spoke, his voice broken.

"Why did you say such things about Rex? Why can't you see he's telling the truth?" She asked coldly. "Or are you too stubborn now to listen to anyone else?"

"B-But Ali...he..." Littlefoot gestured towards Rex. "He attacked me on his own will..."

Ali scowled at this comment, and Littlefoot flinched mentally from this. "Are you going by assumption again?" She stared at him straight in the eyes. "Remember what happened last time when you made your decision based on something you were assuming to be true?" Littlefoot gasped, and felt a weight on his heart. He knew she was right. Littlefoot felt so angry he was accusing Rex, and not even listening to what he had to say. The longneck bowed his head in shame. He never felt like this before.

"Littlefoot..." Rex started, but the look on Littlefoot's face told him he'd better leave him alone. Rex looked at Shorty. "Poor guy..."

Shorty nodded, though didn't say anything. He didn't have to. Rex already knew what the brachiosaur was thinking as he watched his step brother beating himself up mentally. 'Littlefoot, you are stronger than this.' Shorty thought as he watched the broken down longneck. 'Fight it!'

Littlefoot realized something else too. He could sense it, all around him, the battle going on. He looked around to see the bodies of sharpteeth and leaf-eater alike, fallen on the ground and left to rot. He could feel his stomach churn. He had been the cause of this. He could no longer put the blame on the sharpteeth. If he had done something earlier, this could have been stopped.

Littlefoot knew, deep down, that he had turned out to be worse than Chomper himself. And perhaps even Chomper isn't in charge of everything. Maybe the carnotaur is a victim, like everyone else has been in this stupid and pointless war. What would war bring but more bloodshed and death? Was this truly the way to save the valley, or is it the way to bring out its destruction?

"This..is all my fault..." Littlefoot whispered as he continued to cry. "W-Why didn't I stop myself? Why?" Rex reached out slowly with one paw, but swiftly redrew it. "I have to do something..." The apatosaurus raised his head. "I must do something!"

"There is something you can do." The zombified Ali said. "But it is too risky for you to try it. Well unless you are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, to give up everything you hold dear." She said in a rather spooky voice.

"What is it?"

"Make a wish to the Wishing Dragon." Ali explained. "But you will need to sacrifice your life to do so. The Wishing Dragon cannot grant wishes unless she recieves your soul first."

"WHAT!" The trio cried.

"Oh," Ali added, "forgot to mention, the dragon sleeps within Cera."

"CERA!" The trio shouted.

"WHY IS IT TAKING SO LONG!" A voice boomed within the forest. A velociraptor walking beside a triceratops cowers in fear. The triceratops nearly rams his horns into the smaller dinosaur. "ARE YOU TRYING TO TRICK ME, SHARPTOOTH!"

"N-No sir..." Yu, the green velociraptor, explained. "I-I-It's just that I don't know where Chomper is..."

Mr. Threehorn lifted his head up and roared with rage. Yu shivered, and, fearing for his life, he begins to dart out in one direction. If he had eyes, they would be narrowed furiously now. Mr. Threehorn lowers his crushed skull and chases after Yu. "COME BACK HERE!"

"Somebody help!" Ichy cried as he coughed up blood. He was dragging himself along the dirty floor, strugging to get away from the zombies. He was all alone, and his body was covered in blood. His wings were ripped up, and his tail feathers were gone. His gray feathers look black again, but only because of all the blood that soaked into them.

He finally touched the leg of a dinosaur that wasn't one of the Living Dead. He smiled gratefully, happy to see a friendly face. Well friendlier than the Living Dead.

"Sir! Help me! Please!" Ichy cried as he clutched the leg tighter. "I don't wanna die!"

A low growl emitted from the creature's throat, startling the sharpbeak. "Well you should have thought about that before you joined Chomper's group." The creature turned around, and the light from above revealed it to be Spellbound. Ichy screamed and released the alimon's leg.

"P-Please don't hurt me..." Ichy sobbed, bowing his head before the alimon. "I-I will do anything...Please..."

"Where are your friends?" Spellbound asked, ignoring Ichy's pleas. "I thought you travelled in a group."

The sharpbeak gulped. "W-Well I did...but..." He choked a bit on his words. "They...Dil, L-Lizzie...Mel...they were all killed by the Living Dead." He looked up at Spellbound. "You have to help me! I don't want them to get me too!"

"Is that so?" Spellbound inquired coldly, smiling viciously. "I'm sorry but I will have to deny your request." He lowered his head. "Why should I show you mercy? You never showed others mercy." Ichy tried to fly away, but his wings were too damaged. He simply fell flat on the floor. The alimon licked his lips. "I am a bit hungry now that I think of it." He closed his mouth around Ichy's body and lifted him up in the air.

"NO! NO! NO! PLEASE!" Ichy begged frantically. "DON'T DO THIS! I..." He started to choke as the predator suddenly applied a lot of pressure really fast. Then the sharp teeth cut through the bird's skin, organs, and crushed the spine and rib cage. Ichy's eyes went white, and his head lopped to one side.

Spellbound set the body on the floor, and began ripping out pieces of meat and eating them whole. As he ate the bird piece by piece, a rustling sound was heard. Spellbound quickly turned around and snarled. "Who is there!"

A red alimon with white stripes emerged. "Chill, Spellbound! It's only me!" The alimon was a large male, slightly larger than Spellbound. He was part of Dynamo/Siria's pack. "Or did you forget who I was, Spellbound?" He asked playfully.

"Morro?" He asked softly. "Morra is that you? I haven't seen you in years! Where have you been?" He asked, smiling. He wiped off the blood off his chin.

Morro chuckled heartfully. "I've been exploring, what else?" He walked closer to Spellbound. "Dynamo sent out someone to find me, and told me of what happened." He looked around at the devastion in the valley. "Terrible isn't it?"

"Yeah..." Spellbound said, his face downcast. "How could we let it slip so far...?"

"Because you and your miserable pack are just a bunch of idiots who couldn't do so much as cut a blade of grass without problems!" Spellbound and Morro angrily turned to see who had said that. "But then what can I expect from someone who was trained by Dynamo?" The voice said sarcastically.

"Gris!" Spellbound shouted in both surprise and disgust. "Just what are you doing here!"

Gris laughed coldly and approached the enraged alimons slowly. "Oh just paying you two a visit before the final play. That's all." He turned his head towards Morra. "Well well well...Morro! Good to see you again!" He said sarcastically. "It's been a long time. Why, no one has seen you since..."

"Since your good-for-nothing father, Rorra, was killed by Axel after he betrayed her." Morro said with a tinge of hatred.

"WATCH WHAT YOU SAY ABOUT MY FATHER!" Gris exploded with rage, his teeth bared. He was not afraid to make the killing bite.

"Just like your father." Morro said, smiling slightly. "Such a temper. I guess some dinosaurs really do take after their father."

"My father taught me well!" Gris boasted. "In fact, he taught me some spells in case his plan failed."

Spellbound chuckled. "Yeah it did fail...after Axel betrayed him and killed him with a single bite to the head." Gris seethed. "I guess he picked on the wrong alimon, eh, Morro?"

"You said it!"

"ENOUGH!" Gris lunged forward and landed close to the alimons. The action was so fast the two were taken aback, and nearly fell down. "I know what Axel did! Luckily when I became leader, we dealt with her."

Morro blinked. "But...I thought she left the pack after she killed Rorra." He looked at Spellbound. "Isn't that right? She got tired of being under Rorra's control and just left?"

Spellbound nodded. "Yes. She became a loner, and ran far away. I have no idea how far, but I always believed she would be too far way to cause trouble or for anyone from her former pack to find her."

"Oh we found a way." Gris grinned. "And I sent my best assassin to finish the job. Oh how I would have loved to see the look on my own face when the assassin returned with Axel's head!"

Spellbound and Morro slightly cringed at the thought, but they quickly let it go. "So what is it you are doing now?" Morro asked, stepping up to the larger alimon. He showed no signs of fear. "Are you killing off members of our pack now?"

"Sadly...no." Gris narrowed his eyes. "What I'm doing is even better! I am getting my revenge on this worthless valley. I have created a war that will decimate all inhabitants! No one will escape my vengeance!" The gray alimon laughed insanely. As he settled down, he added, "And to think, it all started when I disguised myself as Slasher, and tricked that moron of a dinosaur, Chomper, into thinking he had to join the army of sharpteeth and invade the valley!"

"What...?" A voice called out from behind. Gris, Morro, and Spellbound all turned to see who it was. Gris raised an eyebrow, Morro blinked, and Spellbound gasped. The figure was still hidden in the bushes, but the face was clear enough so that they could tell who it was. As the figure stepped out, there was no doubting it now. Those cracked horns, those short arms, that blue skin, the light blue underneath, the red eyes...they all could only belong to one dinosaur in this valley.

"Chomper!" Spellbound cried, breaking the silence that had started to settle amongst the group.

Chomper made no response. He simply walked forward, a blank look on his face, although his eyes were clearly widened. It may have been due to fright, shock, or astonishment, or perhaps even anger. "You..." He looked at Slasher. "You lied to me..."

"Surprised? Get over it!" Gris said evilly.

"You lied to me...You lied to me. YOU LIED TO ME!" Chomper roared ferociously and charged forward to attack Gris. The speed was so amazing that even Gris would have a hard time dodging this.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!" The scream carried out throughout the forest as Chomper's horn sliced into Gris's side, leaving a deep gash. As Chomper prepared to make the kill, Gris looked up at the dinosaur, and his eyes started to glow... 


	58. To Trust Or Not To Trust

(A/N Here's chapter 58!)

Part VI: The Revelation

Although General Chomper's attack did startle the alimon, he did have one trick up his sleeve. As Chomper was about to plummet his horn through the alimon's side, Chomper looked into the glowing red eyes of the evil alimon. Somehow, almost like magic, Chomper stiffened in mid-attack. His jaws were slightly open, and one leg was off the ground. Then he stood straight up, something bone-crusher sharpteeth would do if they were resting, or wanted to get a better view of something. None of these Chomper was intended on doing. He opened his mouth to speak, but something was keeping the words from exiting his jaws. His eyes widened in fear, realizing his whole body had a reddish glow around it.

Morro and Spellbound watched as Gris kept Chomper in this freezing trance. Then they watched the X-marked alimon slowly approach the general, sharpening his claws along a boulder on the way. "He's going to kill him." Spellbound said dully, not showing much emotion. "Should we do something?" He turned to Morro.

Morro didn't answer. He was already walking out towards Gris, who somehow didn't notice him. Perhaps he was letting his pride get the better of him, or perhaps he wasn't smart enough to look around. As Chomper struggled to break free of this mental grip, Morro leapt towards the evil-hearted alimon, and sank his tooth-studded jaws around the back of the gray alimon.

Snarling in surprise, Gris could not keep his concentration on General Chomper and fight off Morro at the same time. Reluctantly, he released his hold on the blue giant, and fought back at Morro. While Morro and Gris struggled with each other, Chomper shook himself back to reality, and stared down at the alimon.

"You..." He spoke softly. "You look like... "

"Uh, yeah." Spellbound interrupted him. "Of course I do. So why are you standing there, gawking at me?" He narrowed his eyes. "Are you trying to decide whether or not you should eat me!"

General Chomper's eyes widened slightly, but he had no time to respond when he and Spellbound both heard a terrifying scream. They quickly looked over to see Morro on the ground, his throat ripped clean off! They could see the vertabrae of the neck exposed completely, and Gris swallowed the chunk of flesh before getting off of the unfortunate alimon.

"Morro!" Spellbound shouted as he rushed towards Gris. "I'll get you, Gris! I'll get you!" The enraged alimon springs forward and attempted to bite Gris's head. But the evil alimon manuevered out of the way gracefully before swinging around and striking Spellbound across the back, ripping off huge chunks of flesh and leaving deep gashes across his back. Chomper could have sworn he saw bone sticking out.

Spellbound got up, but screamed in agony as he tried to do so much as bend his spine a little to run. He fell right back on the ground. "It seems your plan won't work." Gris said mockingly, gently cupping the injured alimon's head with his paw. "But don't worry...I'll make this nice and quick for you..." He dropped Spellbound's head, but quickly grabbed it again, this time gripping around the head, not just the chin this time. He then grabbed the base of the neck, forcing him to support himself on two legs, which alimons can do really well.

General Chomper realized suddenly just what Gris was planning to do. "Hey pal, why don't you try me on for size!" With that, the Carnotaurus made a mad dash forward.

"What the?" Gris looked up, and could see the giant's mouth closing in around him. Screaming in surprise, he leapt out of the way, forcing Chomper to bite into nothing but air. He reared his head back up, and let out a ferocious roar. Gris growled, hardly phased by Chomper's brave act. "You are either very brave, or very foolish, Chomper." Gris said, looking up. "If you kill me, it does not matter. My pack will decimate this valley!"

General Chomper glared. "We'll see about that..." He lowered his head, and as Spellbound got up to his feet, Chomper gripped Gris's head, and ripped it clean off before the alimon could do anything to protect himself. Spellbound screamed in surprise when he saw the headless body of Gris land in front of him. He backed away, and looked up to see Chomper crushing Gris's head. A few huge drops of blood hit the ground. One hit Spellbound, and he shook his head.

"So...whose side are you on now, pal?" Spellbound said almost sarcastically as he craned his head up to meet with the dinosaur's eyes.

The evil glint was now gone from the creature's eyes, and a genuine smile streaked across his face. "What do you think?" Suddenly General Chomper lifted up his head when he heard the sound of running, coming towards him. Spellbound turned around, and sniffed the air. Chomper sniffed as well, and recognized the scent. "Yu!" He shouted, and as if on cue, a green velociraptor emerged in front of them.

"General Chomper!" Yu shouted seriously, eyes dangerously narrowed. "You have no idea what I have been through trying to search for you! This crazy threehorn has been chasing me for hours! I finally lost him back at Smoking Mountain." He pointed towards the mountain, and growled. "And now that I'm here..." He got into a fighting stance. "How about you and me, one and one?"

To his surprise, Chomper just turned his head away, as if trying to pick up the scent of something else. "We have to find the other sharpteeth." He said to Yu, as if he were oblivious to the fact they were supposed to be enemies now. "We have to find them, before it's too late!"

"Why do you care?" Yu asked, putting his hands on his hips angrily. "You are the cause behind all this! You are the one who wanted to destroy the Great Valley!" General Chomper winced slightly as Yu said these things. "Now you actually care! Why would I trust you!"

"Because..." General Chomper turned around. "I was under a spell."

Spellbound stepped forward. "It is true." He explained slowly, so that Yu could understand him. "Gris had tricked him, and had him trapped in some sort of mind-control." He wasn't sure if that was the right word. "But he broke free after he found out the truth. Now he wants to help." He looked up at Chomper a bit nervously. "I think he does..."

"Of course I do!" Chomper said confidently. "I want to get even with those no-good alimons!"

Yu still looked suspicious, but nodded his head slowly. "All right..I'll believe you." He looked at Chomper, and glared. He pointed at the alimon. "But only because of what he just told me! You'll have to prove your loyalty to me when we go find the others." He began walking away. "Provided that they will even want to see you."

General Chomper gulped nervously. "I know..." He and Spellbound began walking towards Yu's direction as the raptor began leading them to where he had last spotted Littlefoot.

"Where is Cera's body?" Ali asked, completely ignoring everyone's surprised reactions. "The flamebreath rests within it, and we must awaken it, fast!"

"It is over in one of the forests." Littlefoot said. "I think."

Ali glared at him. "You THINK?"

"S-Sorry..." Littlefoot apologized to her, like she was the grand leader or something. "I've just had so much on my mind...and so much happened...that I just lost track of some earlier events..." He bowed his head. "I'm sorry."

"Then we'll just have to sniff her out." Rex said softly. "Maybe if we sniff hard enough, we'll get her scent, and find her."

"Or we'll get the scent of rotting flesh." Littlefoot said sarcastically.

"Perhaps, I could be of some assistance." A voice from behind shouted. The group turned around and saw a familiar figure stepping out, with two smaller ones. They recognized them as Chomper, Yu, and Spellbound. Chomper did not hold any evil look in his eyes any longer, and he approached slowly and cautiously, like he was afraid of them now.

"CHOMPER!" Littlefoot snarled. "What are you doing here?" He positioned himself to charge at the blue sharptooth.

"Yeah!" Shorty stepped up. "Shouldn't you be, like, ordering your damn sharpteeth to destroy this valley, or whatever you damn plan was!"

"No time to explain!" Chomper said, although he was feeling bad. "We have to stop those alimons!" Everyone looked at Spellbound. "No! The ones with the X's on them! They tricked me! They are the real enemy!" Chomper shouted frantically, but knew deep down they will probably just dismiss him off as crazy and insane.

"Are you out of your mind!" Rex shouted, but not in an angry tone. "Even if you are telling the truth, and this is all real, how are you going to convince both our troops and your troops, as well as the Living Dead, to listen to you and attack the X-marked alimons!" He outstretched his arms quickly. "That's insane!"

"See?" Yu said, smirking. "I knew someone was going to call you insane for some reason." He looked up at Chomper, who was glaring at him.

"So why should we believe you?" Littlefoot asked carefully. He remembered what happened when Dark Rex had taken over Rex's body and tried to kill him. "How do we know you aren't trying to trick us?"

General Chomper sighed sadly. "I'm afraid you'll just have to take that chance, and trust me." He looked at Littlefoot hopefully. "All I can say is I'm very sorry for what I did, Littlefoot." He took a step closer. "Very sorry." When Littlefoot closely looked at Chomper's face, he could see a hint of a tear, and he gasped. "I know I cannot change what I did, but I can prevent it from getting any worse."

"You can trust him, Littlefoot." The longneck's attention now turned to the alimon standing next to Chomper. "He saved my life. No one truly evil would have done something like that. You can trust him now, Littlefoot." He nodded, and gave a small smile to the Carnotaurus.

"Well..." Littlefoot said thoughtfully. "I'll guess I'll give him a chance..." He glared. "But if he tries anything stupid, I'll kill him!"

"Relax Littlefoot." Ali said. She looked at Chomper, no anger, hate, or fear in her eyes. Chomper smiled at that. "Will you take us to where you killed Cera?"

Chomper nodded slowly. "Certainly, but first, we have to stop my troops from attacking your troops."

"Okay." Ali said.

Meanwhile, the Living Dead continued to decimate the sharpteeth just as quickly as the sharpteeth were decimating the live dinosaurs. A sharptooth struggled as a living dead duck bill sank its dirty teeth into its neck, choking it. A large sharptooth kicked some threehorns away, causing them to break their legs as they hit the ground heavily. A flyer skillfully manuevered away from some of the sharptooth flyers, and they got caught in a tree.

An alimon reared onto her hind legs as she lunged onto the back of a therizinosaur, and bit into its long, vulnerable neck. The therizinosaur roared, and tried frantically to get the little vermin off. But its arms were too short, and the female alimon managed to break the longclaw's neck. The body fell to the floor with a heavy thud.

"You'll never win!" A leafeater said as he tackled a sharptooth.

"Maybe not, but I'll see to it you don't win either!" The sharptooth lunged forward, and bit into the neck of the planteater.

"Take this!" Rex shouted as he clawed an evil alimon across the chest. Blood splattered all over him as he let the dead alimon drop to the ground.

"I'll make you pay!" Chomper shouted as he drove his horn throw another evil alimon as he and the others raced to where the others were fighting.

"How come they appeared so fast!" Littlefoot shouted. "There weren't this many when the battle stared!"

Yu kicked away another alimon and responded, "Chomper killed Gris, but before that, Gris must've sent some kind of signal! The alimons know he's dead, and they must be trying to fulfill their leader's dying wish!"

"Oh that's great..." Shorty said as he crushed the head of a male alimon. Blood oozed all over the ground. "Just what are we supposed to do? Keep fighting?"

"That's the point!" Littlefoot shouted. "We have to fight if we wanna reach the others in time!" Littlefoot charged forward, sending a couple alimons flying through the air, and landing on the ground. The alimons quickly got up, but Spellbound jumped on top of the white alimon, and drove his claws into the alimons chest, and ripped out the heart. Blood poured from the chest, spraying onto his face and everyone who was nearby.

The two remaining alimons of the group were frightened of this display of brutality, and were about to take off when they found themselves in Chomper's massive jaws. "Going somewhere?" He asked darkly as he quickly crushed his jaws on their small bodies. Blood and guts splattered and stuck to his face as a loud cracking sound could be heard.

"I see them!" Rex shouted gleefully, despite the situation. "The troops! They are right up ahead!"

Loud roaring and clattering echoed in the dark skies as predator and prey clashed in an endless bloody battle for dominance over the valley. Blood and flesh dropped on the floor. Stench of wounds filled everyone's nostrils. Screams of pain danced with roars of triumph in the air. Claws met horns and armor, and teeth sank into skin, piercing the delicious flesh underneath.

Bodies fell onto the ground as the rain began to fall, making the blood runny and mix in with each other to form a few large rivers of blood, and they flowed downhill. Bones cracked, and heads were ripped from their bodies. Backs were broken, and limbs ripped clean off before the final killing blow.

"STOP!"

Suddenly, every dinosaur stopped, both sharptooth and leaf-eater, as well as all the Living Dead who were present. They slowly got off of each other, and looked towards the group racing towards them. The sharpteeth smiled as they saw their leader approaching. Surely he must've captured those leaf-eaters and traitors, and he was going to end the war now! The leaf-eaters cowered in fear as Chomper approached them, but suddenly the Carnotaurus leapt onto a large boulder.

"Stop this senseless fighting at once!" The leaf-eaters looked at each other, rather confused. The sharpteeth were confused too. What had gotten into the general? "We've all been tricked! We've been living a lie!" Chomper shouted loudly so that everyone in the troops could hear his words.

"What are you saying?" A sharptooth shouted. "You told us it was our destiny to rule this valley!"

"Yeah! What has gotten into you?" Another sharptooth shouted.

"The alimons!" Chomper exclaimed. "The alimons with the X marks on their shoulders, they are the ones who tricked me and put me unde a spell. They put us all under a spell! They are using us for their darn purposes! They are having us do their dirty work for them!" Chomper closed his eyes tightly, before screaming, "THEY HAVE USED US FOR NOTHING BUT GAIN!"

Everyone in the group was quiet. They stared at the sharptooth like he had lost his mind. Chomper's glare softened, and he took a step back. He wasn't sure if his troops would obey him now. He didn't seem like the same Chomper they had grown up with.

Then a single figure stepped forward. It was Blueye, who had survived the attack of the Living Dead. She looked up at Chomper with her blue-shaded eyes, her slit pupils slightly dialated.

"Lead the way." 


	59. Teamwork and Sacrifice

(A/N Man I didn't update in a long time. Sorry, it's been harder and harder for me to get on lately. Anyway, here's chapter 59. Only one more left! Yay! Oh, just a note, chapter 60 will be the longest chapter because it will include an epilog.)

Part VI: The Revelation

Inside Chomper's mind, as all this was going on, a dark soul growled hatefully, having been pushed to the farthest part of Chomper's brain. The soul looked through the carnotaur's eyes, and hissed at what had just happened. Curse those alimons! If they had just kept their jaws shut about the whole thing... If it had its own body back, he would clobber the idiot alimon Gris for exposing his secret...That is if Gris is still alive. The soul couldn't help but smile with gratification that the jokester had gotten what he had deserved.

But for now, what really mattered was gaining control once more. Chomper's mind was a lot stronger than he had hoped for. When the beast learned the truth, his mind went into overdrive and overthrew the dark soul and regained control of itself. For the first time in a long time, Chomper could control himself.

The dark soul was a shapeless form, appearing to be nothing more than a dark cloud with glowing white eyes. It had a body before it had died. If the dark soul had a face, it would be grinning as it recalled its glory days when it was still alive, in the form of a certain black alimon with fire-orange stripes. The dark soul was really Fire, and, to seek his ultimate vengeance, he had possessed Chomper. That stupid Gris really thought he had turned Chomper into what he had been, that fool! Fire was the true mastermind behind Chomper's evil transformation, and he planned on completing his act for revenge.

"Those fools..I'll show them..." The dark soul hissed as it watched the leaf-eaters stop attacking the sharpteeth and start attacking an evil alimon that came their way. "They will not take me lightly!" The dark soul realized that it would take too long for him to retake control of the blue sharptooth's mind if the sharptooth is too busy thinking about battle. So the black matter exitted out of his head. He was invisible to everyone anyway. He knew what he had to do. "I must find my own body..."

The formless invisible form dashed its way through the air at impossible speeds. It darted left to right, zig-zagging through the maze of trees and foliage as it frantically searched for its body. Or whatever parts would still be left. It's been so many years; it could be gone, all gone. The dark spirit cursed to itself as the search seems to be turning up cold. Oh why oh why didn't it have to wait until now to exact its vengeance? Why couldn't it have tried much earlier, when it still knew where its body was? Why?

"No use crying over this." The dark soul sighed, or at least it would have if it had a mouth. "I will just find another body to inhabit." The dark soul hated having to do his dirty work through another's body. But right now he had no choice. Without a form, he could do nothing to harm the others. It is just as threatening as a gentle breeze. So aquiring a form is the only way he could bring about the vengeance it had promised so long ago.

"But how are we going to defeat the alimons?" Questioned a brown raptor, standing in between two larger raptors.

"Yeah." Answered a green raptor. "I heard they were very dangerous."

"They are the Guardians of the Great Valley." Littlefoot instructed. "They lived in the mountain ranges to keep sharpteeth out of the valley."

"So that is why sharpteeth kept disappearing..." A white raptor shuddered. "They sound tough."

Another brown raptor grabbed him and shook him. "Well of course they're tough, you idiot! No one can take on an alimon and win! Well except another alimon!" The raptor then glared up at his leader. "Just how do you propose we try to stop the unstoppable, General Chomper?" He turned his head towards Rex. "...And General Rex." Unconsciously, Rex shuddered at the mention of that name.

"Their necks..." General Chomper said slowly and softly. The once-tyrant then shouted louder for them all to hear. "Their necks! It is their most vulnerable spot! If you grab them by their necks, you will have a chance to defeat them!"

The sharptooth pack started murmuring and muttering and whispering amongst themselves. Some of them looked very uncertain. They were shivering like little hatchlings. The others were confident, and most of them had an evil grin on their faces. As that group discussed things, the group belonging to the Living Dead calmly discussed things together. None of them looked worried or confident, but rather callous, indifferent. They didn't even seem to care when more sharpteeth approached them and stopped their fighting with the sharptooth horde.

"So if we destroy the alimons..." asked one of the Living Dead. "..We will have returned everything to normal?"

Littlefoot shook his head. "No... Defeating the alimons is the first step. But what we really need to do is find the flamebreath that inhabits Cera's body and make a wish." He winced. "And if the alimons realize what we would be up to...hope would be lost."

"No..." A Living Dead interrupted. "One of us could make the wish."

Yu looked in their direction. His blue-green eyes narrowed slightly, full of seriousness. "I'm afraid that would be possible. The flamebreath needs the soul of a live dinosaur in order to complete the wish." He closed his eyes. "One of us, still amongst the living, much sacrifice our life to restore balance to this world. This means that, even after things return to normal, the one who makes the wish will not return, but remain dead."

Littlefoot listened to the velociraptor's explaination, and his heart skipped a beat. Should they really make the wish and risk losing one of their friends forever? But then...he has lost almost all of his friends in this stupid war between sharpteeth and flat-teeth. Should he really value that single life more than he values the lives of the friends he had lost? Littlefoot mentally shook his head. No...No he must make the wish. His sacrifice would save the world.

"Littlefoot?" Shorty asked, noticing his step brother zoning out. It kind of scared him. "Are you all right? You just..blanked out there."

"Wh-What?" Littlefoot looked and saw that it was only Shorty. "No, I'm fine, just fine." He was lying through his teeth, but he was thankful Shorty didn't realize it himself. The Living Dead was walking towards the other Living Dead to discuss things with them. Littlefoot watched them and sighed sadly before he walked over to Chomper.

"What is it Littlefoot?" Chomper had questioned. "Worried about something?" The carnotaurus turned around to face the longneck. He waited for the longneck to give his response.

"It's just...everything that has happened." Littlefoot stated. "You turning against us. This sharptooth invasion. All this talk about flamebreaths, stoneglares, magic, and spirits. The death of almost all my friends. Betrayal from another friend. Meeting the alimons once again. The devastation of the valley. The Living Dead." He sighed sadly. "It's almost like all of this is just some bad, horrible dream."

"If only it were that." Chomper said, feeling rather guilty for being stupid enough to fall for Slasher's..no...Gris's lies. If he had just seen through that pitiful disguise, if only he had seen the truth, maybe, just maybe...none of this horrible stuff would have happened to the Great Valley. Once a beautiful, lush landscape, the sharptooth invasion had reduced the valley into being nothing more than a horrifying deathtrap, turning it sinister, almost like Fortress Valley.

"Fortress Valley..." The blue sharptooth whispered, almost in horror.

Littlefoot blinked. "What about Fortress Valley?"

"There are still prisoners there." Chomper said shamefully. "And still corrupted sharpteeth there. Shouldn't we go and try and save them?"

"I don't think we can." The longneck stated, bowing his head. He heard a snarl being directed towards him, but it wasn't from General Chomper. When Littlefoot turned, he realized it was coming from one of the still alive plant-eaters.

"So we should just abandon them like that?" She shouted, shaking a fist at the confused apatosaurus. "Are you that cold! We should go save them!"

"And what about here!" Littlefoot snapped. "Don't you think it would be smarter to stay here, get ahold of that flamebreath, make the wish and turn everything back to normal!" The flat-tooth stammered. "Face it, the only way to save everyone is by making that wish!"

"Agreed." Rex smiled, and nodded. "We must hurry up and find Cera's body, before the alimons realize that we are going to change the past."

Then, at that moment, a loud thunderous laughter shook through the air, startling everyone. Even the Living Dead were uneasy as they listened to the roar that came into their dead ears. A group of shadows snaked their way, darkening the ground. They looked like a bunch of clawless fingers that were reaching their way forward to grasp all the dinosaurs. The shadows grew so big and long that even Littlefoot found himself being covered in the silhouettes that seemed to be eating away the landscape before them.

Hideous laughter filled the skies even more, sounding as deafening as thunder claps during a thunderstorm. The dinosaurs, both alive and dead, braced themselves for whatever it was coming towards them. Many of them bared their teeth. Others cowered behind larger dinosaurs, who only rolled their eyes.

As the figures came into view, it was revealed that these were the Darkarians, the pack members who followed the path that Fire had wanted alimons to follow so many years ago. Wielding on their shoulders were the classic X scars, a symbol of their betrayal against Shakti, started by Fire. In the front was Retaru. The blood red alimon smirked evilly as he slowly approached the group, leading his pack. Yes, his pack. Since Gris's death, he has been appointed the new leader. He was determined to follow in Gris's footsteps, despite not being related to him.

"I am afraid it is too late." Retaru announced as soon as the pack had reached their destination. They now stood only a few feet away from Chomper, who snarled at them. "We know all about your plan, and I'm afraid to say that it will not work."

"Oh yeah?" Yu said challengingly. "And why is that?"

Retaru's eyes darkened considerably. "Because, my pack will destroy you before you even reach the wish-granting flamebreath's resting place." He turned to his pack, in the front were Sumaru and Snowstorm. "Everyone, attack!"

Littlefoot gulped when the pack of alimons suddenly sprung to life, racing across the floor at incredible speeds, getting ready to tear them apart. Even with the Living Dead on their side, this battle would be insane. Suddenly, Chomper, Rex, and Yu jumped in front of the group together. "Chomper, Rex, Yu..." Littlefoot whispered.

"Go and find the flamebreath!" Rex shouted bravely.

"Don't worry about us!" Chomper said.

"We'll hold them off!" Yu said.

Littlefoot seemed stunned, but Ali's nudging knocked the sense back into him. Without saying a word, Littlefoot, Ali, and Shorty raced to find where Cera's body last was in hopes of finding the flamebreath. While they fled, Chomper bit down into a lunging alimon and tossed her towards Rex in the air. Rex grabbed the alimon and made a dive down, slamming her into it. The force broke the alimon's neck, killing her instantly.

Rex dove down and picked up another alimon and threw him into the ground. While this didn't kill him, it was to disorient him long enough for Yu to sneak up on him and give a powerful kick to the neck. The sickleclaw cut deep into the dinosaur's neck. The alimon's eyes widened in shock as it felt blood gushing from its neck, staining the ground before him. In seconds, the alimon bled to death and flopped onto the ground.

Yu rushed over to another alimon and gave a powerful kick across the rips. A thin yet painful cut appeared, causing the alimon's breathing to be impaired. Once again this was a distraction, not a fatal attack. The alimon snarled and he lunged for Yu, only smirked as Chomper's head came down and enclosed around the alimon's head. He snapped his jaws shut, beheading the alimon. The body fell to the ground with a sickening thud.

Yu looked up, and his eyes widened. "Uh oh..." An angry black and white alimon had climbed up a tree and was lunging right for him! Unless he ran, there was no way for him to counter the attack, and he hated to run. He called to Chomper. "Chomper!"

The carnotaurus immediately recognized the danger of the situation and came to Yu's aid. He lowered his body so that Yu could climb up. The raptor raced along Chomper's back and he jumped into the air. "Rex!" Yu called.

"Coming!" Rex sailed down towards the leaping velociraptor and grabbed him with his arms, and flew him in the direction of the alimon.

"Fly higher!" Yu demanded, and Rex did so. Just as they were above the leaping alimon, who was startled by this turn of events, Yu said, "Drop me now!" Rex reluctantly let go, and the green sickleclaw landed on the alimon's back. The force of his fall and his shere weight caused the two dinosaurs to plummet to Earth, crashing into the ground. Yu survived, but the alimon suffered a fatal blow. His neckbone had snapped clean in half and was resting at an odd angle.

"What the!" Retaru watched in fury as a few of his soldiers fell so fast. "They're just weakling dinosaurs! How are they killing you! It is you who should be killing them!" He shouted at his troops. "Now KILL them!"

"I guess you never heard of teamwork." Yu shouted as he stood proudly over the dead alimons they had just killed. "Anything is possible if you work in a team! Isn't that right guys?"

"Yes!" Chomper said as he walked forward and stood next to the green velociraptor.

"You said it!" Rex flew down and stood on the other side of the raptor.

"How touching..." Snowstorm snarled as he took a step foward. "But let's see how well you can handle it when we all attack you at once!"

"What..?" Yu whispered, his smug look wiped off and replaced with a fearful look.

Retaru smiled, sensing his fear. "Good idea Snowstorm! All alimons! Alimons, form three groups, and attack each of these three dinosaurs at once! Let's see how they can counter that!"

Chomper gulped as the alimons began to regroup and disperse into three groups this time. "How are we going to counter against this?" He asked Rex.

"Don't ask me..." Rex gulped. "I don't know..."

"We'll help." Said a voice behind them. They turned around to see the leaf-eaters and Living Dead standing behind them, looking determined to fight and help these three sharpteeth. "We will help you." The Living Dead said once again.

Another Living Dead nodded. "Yes. We cannot die, so it won't matter to us how many of those alimons attack us."

A leaf-eater stepped up. "And we of the living are prepared to sacrifice our lives to help you."

"Thanks guys..." Rex whispered, smiling softly.

"All right, let's do this!" Chomper shouted, commanding his two friends, the leaf-eaters, and the Living Dead. With a battle cry, the two groups lunged towards each other, prepared to fight with all of their available strength and effort.

"She should be around here somewhere." Littlefoot said, feeling a bit scared about trying to find a corpse. It was hard enough to see her when she first died. Who knows what her body looks like now?

Ali walked beside him, but hardly spoke since they left. She spoke again, in a dark and serious voice. "Well then, shouldn't we be seeing her soon? Real soon?"

"But if she is one of the Living Dead, shouldn't she be somewhere else?" Shorty asked, looking around. "She could have ran off somewhere. Searching here could be a waste."

Littlefoot stopped. "Or it could be perfect." He pointed, with his head, to where Cera was. He approached her corpse slowly. It was located near a river this time. "She fainted." Littlefoot said with a slight smile.

"Littlefoot?" Asked a soft voice up in the trees. Littlefoot looked up and saw a large flyer perched on the branches. "Littlefoot is that you?" The figure flew out of the trees and landed in front of him. It was Pterano. "Oh it is you! It's so good to see a friendly, non-mutilated face. I..." His face paled when he saw the corpses of Ali and Shorty heading his way.

"Oh hi, Pterano. We were just..." Shorty didn't have the chance to finish when Pterano's eyes rolled back in his head, and he fell to the ground. Shorty stared in shock.

"You killed him!" Littlefoot shouted, staring at the limp body of Pterano.

"No..." Ali said, shaking her head. "He just fainted, just like Cera did here."

"Fainted?" Littlefoot asked.

Shorty lifted up Pterano by his tail. "Yeah, he's still alive."

Littlefoot smiled thankfully, and he approached the flamebreath's body with extreme caution. He tried to ignore the pungent smell that was filling his nostrils. He tried to hold back gagging as he nudged the carcass with his snout. "Oh great flamebreath, will you awaken and grant us one wish?" He asked.

Almost immediately, a bright light illuminated the body, and the dragon appeared once more, her massive body pairing down at the group of dinosaurs that stood before her. Her huge eyes glared down at the one who had awoken her: Littlefoot. "What is it that you want?" The dragon asked, obviously female.

"I have come to make a wish." Littlefoot said bravely. "Since I'm the only one alive here..." He remembered Pterano. "...that is awake of course."

"Why do you want to make your wish?" The flamebreath questioned.

"To save my friends..." Littlefoot said, lowering his head. "I want things to go back to normal again..."

"Then why don't you wish for it? You do know the price you must pay, however?" Littlefoot nodded. "Then very well. Make your wish."

Littlefoot nodded. "I wish that..."

Suddenly a familiar voice interrupted him. Before Littlefoot had time to react or finish his sentence, someone else finished the sentence for him!

"I wish that Chomper was never corrupted so that none of this horrible stuff ever happened!" The voice demanded.

Littlefoot turned around, fearing, dreading who had wished that. When he finally set his eyes on the one who had made the wish, his heart skipped a bit, and his lip quivered slightly. He shook his head slowly.

"Rex..." 


	60. The End of the Road plus Epilouge

(A/N: Sorry for the very long delay, everybody. I wasn't sure exactly how to pull this final chapter off. Well here you have it. The finale of Out of the Shadows! Enjoy!) 

Part VI: The Revelation

Littlefoot looked on in horror as Rex slowly approached them. His wings were spread out proudly, a stern, stubborn look on his face, almost cold. He stood next to Littlefoot, and looked up at the dragon bravely. "I wish to make the sacrifice for the wish." He said, hiding all traces of fear. But Littlefoot could sense, by his racing heart, that Rex was indeed very afraid. And they knew, deep down, it was too late. He had already made the wish.

"Rex! No!" Littlefoot knocked Rex onto the ground with his head. "What are you doing? I was supposed to make the wish!" Tears of anger and sadness strolled down his cheeks, something he had grown used to these past times.

Rex picked himself up, and brushed off his arms as though Littlefoot's tackle did nothing to him. "I'm sorry, but I had to." He took a step back when Littlefoot roared.

"Why! Why did you have to make the wish!" He shouted angrily.

"Because..." Rex lowered his gaze, eyes closed shut tightly. "I betrayed you guys. So...so to redeem myself...I made the wish."

Littlefoot shook his head. "No...no...you didn't have to do that Rex..." Tears jerked in the back of his eyes, and he tried his best to stifle his sobs. He had to remain strong. Life is like this. Life is not fair. But really...did this have to happen? Did Rex really need to sacrifice his life for everyone? What did he do to deserve this? No one deserved this! No one! Littlefoot felt his lower lip quiver as Rex took another step towards the dragon, preparing for his life force being ripped from his body.

Rex looked back at Littlefoot, his eyes starting to water ever so slightly. It wasn't apparent at first, but the longneck could have sworn he saw a tear running down the side of the dracovol's right cheek, the one with the scar on it. "Littlefoot..do you remember...our first adventure outside of the Great Valley?"

Littlefoot used his tail to wipe away a tear. "Y-Yes..That was when we were with Yu's pack for the first time...fighting against Bull's pack...isn't it?"

Rex smiled, and nodded. "Yes." He looked up at the sky. "And remember how you stuck up for me when everyone else was convinced I was a traitor?"

The longneck winced a bit at the memory, but quickly smiled. "Oh yes." He grinned. "And for a long time afterwards, we would all have a good laugh about that mistaken identity. They all felt silly!" Littlefoot laughed, despite his pain. "Especially Cera and Chomper! Cera felt guilty about pushing you into the river, and Chomper felt guilty of accusing you in the first place."

At the thought of Cera, Rex's eyes narrowed playfully. "You know, she still hasn't apologized to me for what she did." He was knocked down by a playful nudge by Littlefoot.

"Oh, you know she was sorry, even if she didn't say it!" Littlefoot smirked. "She just has a hard time saying it in words is all. I mean, when we were only kids, she accused my mother of being stupid." Despite it being so long, Littlefoot couldn't help but feel a pang of anger deep, very deep within his heart. "And although she never apologized for it, I knew, deep inside, she was very sorry for what she said. She probably didn't mean it."

Rex nodded. "True. You guys were out in a barren landscape for so long, in the hot sun, starving, chased by a sharptooth, seperated from your herds." He crossed his arms, and nodded. "Yeah, she was probably just irrated from all that, especially the heat, and she just overreacted is all."

"Yeah." Littlefoot smiled again. "She really came through for us in the end. She helped us knock over that sharptooth!"

Rex's eyes widened slightly. "Isn't that when you guys somehow managed to kill a sharptooth?" Littlefoot nodded quickly. "Wow...wish I had been there. I'm sure that would've really impressed Judah! None of the sickleclaws I lived with ever dreamed of 5 kids taking down a fully grown bone-crusher sharptooth!"

Littlefoot blushed a bit from embarrassment. "It was a lucky thing... I doubt we would have been able to do it again, given the chance..."

"Oh sure you would!" Rex said cheerfully. "There's no reason why you couldn't!"

Shorty and Ali watched the scene, unblinking. They looked up at the dragon. The dragon seemed to understand, and was waiting patiently as the two continued their seemingly endless chat. "Man...they sure sound like they are going to miss each other, eh?" Shorty said, looking sideways to Ali.

The female longneck shrugged, but a faint smile was on her face. "Yes. Littlefoot said that he and Rex were like brothers."

Shorty looked at her in shock. But he didn't say anything. He looked up at the sky. If he were alive, right now would have been a good time to let in a deep breath of fresh air, or whatever fresh air was left. He was thankful that he was dead at this point. He knew the entire valley wreaked of rotting corpses and coagulated blood. "Ali..." He finally spoke after a few minutes quiet.

The apatosaurus quickly turned her head. "Yes..?" She asked softly, but somewhat sternly. "What is it?"

"I..I was thinking..."

"..Yes...?"

"I'm not sure how to put it..."

"Just spit it out!" Ali said irritably.

"Are you looking forward to...being alive again?" He finally spat out. Ali blinked, taken aback by this question.

"Well..I suppose..." She admitted, but still seemed doubtful. "I'm not sure it is right, reversing the laws of nature."

"But do you want the future to stay this way?" Shorty said, growling a little. "Do you want the valley to wreak like this for years? What about the future children?"

"I know! I know!" Ali growled. "I never said I didn't want want the valley to return to normal. I'm just saying that it seems wrong to reverse death into life. But hey, who am I to give orders?"

Shorty would've slapped her if he knew it would hurt her. "Wrong? Wrong! Why I outta..." Suddenly he heard a sound. Looking down on the soft grassy ground, he could see the figure of Pterano slowly waking up. The flyer looked dazed and confused, and shook himself awake. "Hello Pterano!" Shorty said, almost cheerfully.

Pterano froze, and eyes widened as he looked up at the undead dinosaur. "A-A-A-A L-L-Living D-D-Dead!" He stammered, his whole body trembling now.

Shorty quickly moved his head forward to look Pterano straight in the eyes. "Please don't faint again. We won't hurt you..." He glared softly at Ali. "At least I won't hurt you."

Ali scoffed, and looked down at Pterano. "Did you have a nice nap, Pterano?" She said sarcastically. She knew the answer would be no.

"No!" Ali smiled. She knew it. Pterano brushed off his wings, and snarled at the two Living Deads. "You two almost gave me a heart attack! I was lucky I woke up at all!"

"Good to see you too." Shorty mumbled under his breath.

Pterano was about to continue when he noticed Rex talking with Littlefoot. Pterano blinked in confusion. "What are they doing...?" He watched as the longneck and dracovol seemed to be chatting about the old days. "What do they think they will pull off just sitting there and..." His eye then caught something he hadn't noticed before. His heart seemed to stop beating as he looked up at the flamebreath, the same one that took Gorjak's life away not so long ago. "AAAAHHH!" He screamed, but before the dragon had time to see who screamed, Pterano's beak was sealed tightly shut by Ali's tail.

Ali let go of the pteranodon's beak when the dragon returned its gaze towards the chatting friends. "Shhhh..." She hissed in Pterano's ear. "Don't interrupt!"

"B-But.." Pterano stammered, feeling weak. "The dragon will take one of their lives away if they make a wish. We have to stop them!"

Shorty rolled his eyes. "Too late. Rex already made a wish."

"What!"

Littlefoot and Rex laughed heartfully as they continued to chat about the old days. "While I admit it was disgusting, it was funny to see Cera's reaction when she bumped into that corpse! Man, that facial expression she made cracked me up!" Littlefoot admitted, though feeling guilty about doing so. There certainly wasn't anything funny about what they all had witnessed there that day.

"When she told me about it," Rex said, "It even sent chills down my spine, and I was used to sights like that!"

Littlefoot cocked a suspicious eyebrow. "...Really...?"

Rex grinned, and laughed. "Of course not! The Toviel Pack, which all its members, usually eats all of the body, or most of it. I've never really seen any of my pack members ever leaving a body out like that before." His face turned slightly serious. "After all, it would have attracted unwanted company, either other sickleclaws or perhaps one of the scavenging sharpteeth."

Although he didn't understand the whole life of a sharptooth, Littlefoot nodded solemnly. He learned how territorial a sharptooth could be, how aggressively they would behave towards each other for a scrap of meat. It was things like this that made him proud to be a plant-eater. At least a plant-eater didn't have to go through all that struggle for food. Usually there was plenty to go around for everyone.

"Do you remember when we first got into this mess?" Littlefoot asked. When Rex gave him a confused look, he continued. "I mean...when we found out about your sharptooth heritage, and when Zill and Bull first invaded the Great Valley?" Rex nodded slowly. "Sometimes I wish that day didn't happen."

"Really?" Rex asked slowly.

"But...But I know if it didn't..." Littlefoot eyed him in the face. "We never would have met the Toviel Pack and made allies with them. We never would have defeated Bull and Zill. We never would have met Yu. We never would have met Chomper again. We never would have befriended the alimons." Littlefoot smiled softly, recalling all this from the past. "But...But most importantly...if that day never happened..." Rex leaned in to hear what Littlefoot was saying, as his voice was softening up. "You never would have found out what you were, or your true blood-family."

Rex smiled, recalling his brother, Vlad. He sure missed him now, and worst of all, Vlad would not know what happened to him, unless Vlad's pack came by this way again. "To think, after a year of searching, I finally found out what I was, and what really happened to me." His eyes darkened. "I recall when Axel told me she killed my mother."

Littlefoot glared, nodding his head. "Ripping her wings off just to make her suffer." He shook his head. "No real sharptooth would ever do something just to make their victims suffer. Real sharpteeth try to kill their victims quickly."

Rex nodded. "It was a lesson I was taught, a long time ago after I recently joined the Toviel Pack." He looked up, and thought hard in his head, trying to recall the phrase he was told. "Good sharpteeth never hurt others for no reason."

"For a long time, I held a grudge against the sharptooth that attacked my mother." Littlefoot stated. Rex turned and looked at him, somewhat surprised.

"Really?"

Littlefoot nodded, feeling somewhat guilty. "Yes..I was just a kid at the time, very young might I add... We were travelling to the valley together, and all of a sudden a sharptooth attacked. He killed my mother." He closed his eyes, not ashamed to let tears escape. "I tried to commit suicide by starving myself, but..but I knew that was not what my mother would have wanted, so I pressed on. And when I was given the opportunity to seek revenge against that sharptooth...I did."

"So that's why you killed him?" Rex took a step forward. "Because you wanted to avenge your mother's death?"

Littlefoot managed a nod. "Yes, that and get back at him for all the trouble he caused me and my friends on our very first adventure together." He looked up at the sky, as though hoping a spirit would appear soon. "But now...now I realize I did the wrong thing. Sometimes I wish I could go back and stop myself. The sharptooth wasn't the real monster." He closed his eyes. "It was me..."

Rex knew very well Littlefoot and his pals killed the sharptooth, but until now he never really knew the reason why. Now it was in his mind, recorded in his memory. "Wow...I never would have guessed.."

"What do I tell Chomper? I'm sure he was close to that sharptooth."

"Littlefoot..that sharptooth died before Chomper was born. I'm sure he wouldn't have known him!" Rex said, chuckling a bit.

"B-But what if I were to tell him now...or tomorrow...? What about his parents? What would they think if they found out?" Littlefoot choked a tear. "What would they think when I tell them I killed Chomper's uncle!"

Rex sighed. He recalled a chat he had with Chomper's parents. They told him how Goldeye's older brother was seperated, and lost in the barren terrain. They told him how they followed his scent, and realized he was tracking small prey. Rex recalled the anguish in Goldeye's voice as she explained how the trail had stopped, and her dear brother was no where to be found. There was only one explaination. He must've fallen into the deep water. She and her mate never solved the mystery, and they never found the youngsters they blamed for the old sharptooth's death.

Rex knew how close Littlefoot and his pals came to being killed by Chomper's parents. Surely the sharpteeth would have recognized their smell no time flat. But time and luck was on the children's side. After all that time in the valley, the scents from the area had masked the scent they once carried when they lived outside of the valley. This saved their lives whenever they encounted Chomper and his folks. Rex shuddered as he thought what might happen should those two find out what really happened.

"Yeah...I suppose we shouldn't tell Chomper at all what happened. After all, it may have been his uncle you killed, and he may not be attached to him at all, but if Chomper were to tell his folks, they'd eat you for sure!"

"Yeah...I know." Littlefoot said, sighing guiltily.

Finally, after these many minutes of nothing but chat and recalling the ancient past, the dragon finally grew weary and look a step forward, and lowered its massive head. The two friends, startled, moved back quickly. "Are you two quite done yet?" The dragon hissed.

"Almost!" Rex said. "Just give me another minute!"

The flamebreath growled, but nodded her head. "Very well. Hurry up!"

"Littlefoot..." The dracovol looked at Littlefoot's now watering eyes. "Do you remember what I said before? Back when we first seperated after the battle against Bull?"

Littlefoot nodded, wiping another tear away with his tail. "Yes..I remember." He choked. "You had promised you'd come back, after you were done with your quest. I waited so long for you, and..." He felt too ashamed to continue. He knew he had given up hope for Rex at some point. And he didn't want to admit this.

Rex understood, and nodded. "Well this time I won't be coming back." While he knew this was true, Littlefoot couldn't help but let out a gasp of horror. "This is forever...Littlefoot. Just remember, I'll always be with you. In here..." He placed his paw on his chest. "We're best friends forever. Don't you ever forget that!"

Littlefoot sniffled. "S-Sure...Rex." He smiled a little. "I-I will remember. I promise!"

Rex smiled. "Thanks...brother."

Littlefoot felt his heart lurch at this. He smiled as a seemingly endless flow of tears went out of both of his eyes, making his face moist and stingy. "G-Goodbye...Rex..." He lifted up a paw and started to wave at the dracovol, trying to look as strong as he possibly could.

"Goodbye, Littlefoot." Rex said, sounding as brave as he possibly could. He then turned towards the dragon and straightened himself up. "I am ready."

The dragon nodded, and it began to lift Rex into the sky with an invisible force. It started to drain the dracovol's life force. Littlefoot winced, and turned his face away. His eyes were closed extremely tightly, tears still able to escape. He just couldn't bare to watch this. He tried to tune out the horrible screams Rex emitted as the flamebreath took away his very breath. Littlefoot tried to drown it all out with wonderful thoughts of the past.

He instead thought of how much fun he and Rex and his other friends had together, all those times before. But the feeling of pleasantry was soon overshadowed by feelings of despair. He knew he would never again experience any of those things with Rex anymore. He would never see Rex again.

Finally, he had the courage to look up. He could still see Rex's body, but the dracovol's eyes were shut, mouth wide open, tongue hanging out. Littlefoot didn't try to stop the sob that escaped his throat as he saw his dear friend, floating there, lifeless, pale, and cold. Then the dragon touched the energy bubble Rex was floating in with its claw, and his body instantly disintigrated right before Littlefoot's horrified and water-leaking eyes. As he watched the particles that were once his friend float away, he didn't notice the dragon's body glow brightly.

"His wish shall be granted!" It said loudly, somewhat proudly and solemnly, and it took off into the air. Spreading its wings out, it began to do an aerial spin. It spin so rapidly it was hard to make out its shape anymore. The glow brightened, and jetted out, creating a wall of white light. Littlefoot didn't notice it. His eyes were on the sky as the wall of light began to rapidly sweep across the land. The last thing Littlefoot saw before the light engulfed him was the stars, and he could have sworn he could see Rex up there..smiling at him.

Littlefoot suddenly woke up. He quickly got up to his feet, and looked around. He expected to find that the air still rank of dead bodies, but the air now smelled clean. He looked around carefully. The valley was as good as new. There was no sign of sharpteeth anywhere. He tried to find evidence of a fight, but no blood could be found. He tried to remember what happened. Then it all came back to him. "Rex..." He whispered.

"Hey Littlefoot!" A cheery voice sounded out from behind. Littlefoot stiffened a bit, half-expecting it to be Rex. But when he turned around, he realized it was only Petrie. Then realization kicked in.

"Petrie!" He said, excited that the wish had actually worked. "You're alive!"

Petrie laughed as he hugged his body tightly. "Sure am! Me happy I no chopped in half no more!"

Littlefoot's eyes narrowed slightly. "You...You remember?"

Petrie nodded. "Sure! We all do!"

Littlefoot nodded slowly. The wish changed everything, but they all still remembered what originally happened. "So Cera, Spike, Ali, Shorty, my dad..they're all alive now? They aren't...dead?" He asked slowly, as if Petrie was going to give him bad news.

The flyer laughed light-heartedly. "Of course, silly!"

Littlefoot nodded, and ran as fast as his longneck body would allow him to where his father and stepbrother nested in the valley. He stopped as he first saw the nest from a distance. He could see his brother, sleeping soundly by the nest. His father was keeping watch, even though there was no longer a threat. As Littlefoot approached, Bron looked over, and greeted his son. "Hello Littlefoot!"

"Hi dad." Littlefoot said, his head a bit low. "I just came to see if you guys were really..."

"Really alive...? Why wouldn't we? Someone made the wish to the flamebreath, did they not?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"You...You know about that?" Littlefoot asked, shocked.

"Well of course! It is the only thing that made sense." Bron answered, giving a small smile. "And I want to thank you for making the wish, my son."

"Thanks..but I didn't make the wish. Rex did." Littlefoot said sadly, a single tear coming to his eye.

"Rex..? You mean that flying sharptooth you mentioned to me before about?" Bron asked, looking somewhat stunned. "Where is he then? I would like to thank him."

Littlefoot shook his head. "S-Sorry dad..but you can't. See, the flamebreath drains the lifeforce of whoever made the wish. Rex is...gone..." He let another tear escape.

"Oh..I'm sorry, son..." Bron said, closing his eyes. "I know what it is like to lose a loved one."

Littlefoot didn't answer. He turned and walked away. He walked for several hours until he reached the other side of the valley. He recognized it as the place where he and his friends used to play when they were kids. As he stared out into the open field longingly, he felt someone nudge him sharply. "Ow!" He looked over and saw it was Cera. "Cera?"

"Who did you expect?" Cera smirked. Standing with her were Ducky, Spike, and Ali. "The Living Dead?" She chuckled.

"Where is Rex...?" Ducky asked, looking around. "I do not see him, no no no."

"He's..he's dead." Littlefoot said. The dinosaurs gave a group gasp. "He sacrificed his life...for all of us..."

"No..." Spike moaned, tears running down his face.

Ducky hugged her brother close. "He was my best friend. Poor Rex..."

Ali shook her head. "I-I'm so sorry to hear that, Littlefoot." She walked up to him as Littlefoot started sobbing loudly. She rubbed up against him, and placed her head on his shoulder. "There, there...let it all out." Littlefoot continued to cry as Ali continued to comfort him.

Littlefoot stared out onto the landscape. He knew he would never again see Rex, and it made his view of the valley all the more painful. He could not imagine the valley without the cheerful dracovol. He was surprised when Ali licked him on the cheek. Startled, he looked at her, eyes widened. "Ali...?"

Ali smiled, eyes half opened. He knew that look. "Come on, let me cheer you up..."

But this time, Littlefoot did not try to run away. Knowing they wanted time alone, Spike and Ducky walked off to find Cera and Petrie. As they walked away, Littlefoot and Ali nuzzled each other. From up within the skies, Littlefoot could have sworn he heard Rex's voice.

And the voice said, "Never forget..."

(A/N The following song I wrote myself. I'm not a good song writer, but considering I'm not allowed to post official song lyrics anymore, I had to write my own. So I hope you like it.)

(Many years ago, under these brightly lit stars  
You and I, we made a promise  
No matter how long we were stuck looking through the bars  
We would always be friends forever

As I stare up at the night sky  
Pondering what might have been  
I can feel you up there, staring at me in the eye  
You would never let me down

Do you remember that day  
When we first met?  
Do you remember that day  
When you realized your true destiny?

Could things have been different  
If we have never met?  
Could things have been different  
If you never made that sacrifice?

Where are you, my friend?  
I miss you so  
I know our journey has reached an end  
But I'm afraid I cannot fully accept that

All the laughter we shared  
All the joy we exchanged  
Despite all the teeth bared  
We would always have time for that

Do you remember that day  
When our home was invaded?  
Do you remember that day  
When you left me to find your true place?

Could things have been different  
If you chose to stay with me?  
Could things have been different  
If you never found out who you were?

Goodbye, my friend  
I will see you very soon  
Goodbye is never the end  
It is only the beginning...)

(A/N Okay, now for the epilouge!)

Epilouge

It has been five years since the sharptooth invasion. Five years since many of Littlefoot's friends lost their lives to a ruthless yet mind-controlled Chomper. Five years since Littlefoot was forced to say good-bye to his friend whom he knew from hatching day, Rex. The valley had returned to normal. Many of its citizens had forgotten that terrible day. But those closes to Rex had scars in the back of their mind of what had happened.

Littlefoot and his pals were now fully sized adults. They were no longer considered children. Cera had become leader of her father's herd. Her father, weak from sickness, would watch her proudly as she led their threehorn herd with expertice.

Spike had learned how to speak properly thanks to tutoring from another spiketail. Spike had joined with a spiketail herd, and while he felt bad about leaving Ducky behind, he believed this is where he had to be for a while. He promised Ducky he would return one day.

Ducky had adjusted to life without his brother being around so much. She had found a mate named Nightfall, and she had recently nested. She would gently turn her eggs, and waited patiently for them to hatch.

Petrie had also found a mate of his own. Pterano was chosen to be the godfather of their children. As Petrie hugged his mate, a female flyer named Rainbow, Pterano watched them proudly. They had just laid an egg, and Pterano couldn't feel happier. He loved children, and he was glad, despite his past, Petrie was willing to trust Pterano in the raising of the children.

Bron and Shorty were still in the valley. Shorty, a fully grown Brachiosaurus, was in charge of helping Bron whenever he needed it. Bron was starting to age a bit, and sometimes slipped. Thankfully Shorty was always there to help.

Then finally, there was Littlefoot and Ali. The two had paired off years ago, and were practically inseparable. The pair sat near the cave they had been in all those years ago. While it brought back haunting memories, it was the perfect place to raise their children. They had two, a son and a daughter.

Littlefoot looked up at the skies. He took in a deep breath. He recalled that day, when Rex disappeared forever. Sometimes he would see dracovols entering the valley to get a drink of water. He would always think it was Rex, but sadly, none of the dracovols looked like Rex, or even sounded like him.

"Littlefoot?" Ali's voice snapped him out of his trance. "You thinking about Rex again?"

"Wha..who..? Oh..yeah..." Littlefoot lowered his head. Ali nudged him softly.

"Don't worry about it!" Ali said, smiling. "He wouldn't want you to be sad forever!"

"Yeah...I know..." He sighed. "Another thing that keeps bothering me is what did Doc mean when he told me...nothing is as it seems..?" He looked at her, almost expecting an answer. But the female dinosaur was just as puzzled as he was.

"Maybe he was just joking with ya. He was an old-timer anyway. They tend to joke sometimes." She remarked.

"Not Doc." Littlefoot said seriously, eyes narrowed.

"Sorry." Ali said, head lowered.

"It's all right." He said. "I'm just confused, that's all."

"Daddy! Daddy!" A childish voice shouted, racing towards him. Littlefoot laughed, forgetting about his sadness. "Could me and Marsh go out and play?"

Littlefoot laughed again. "Why sure, Brook, you can take your sister and play."

Marsh bounded out beside Brook, giggling. They began to run off, tackling each other along the way. "Yay!" They shouted, happy to be outside today. The sun was out, and it was warm. It was a nice day today.

"As long as you stay within your mother's sight." Littlefoot instructed.

"Awww..." The little longnecks muttered. "I thought we were old enough to be on our own!"

Ali laughed, and reached out with her longneck, and nuzzled her two children. "Oh you will be, one day. But not now."

Marsh looked up at her father, noticing him leaving. "Dad? Where are you going?"

Littlefoot stopped, and didn't bother looking back. "Out for a walk. Be good for your mother." And he disappeared into the trees.

Littlefoot walked for a while. He looked around at the trees. He imagined a shadow or two, and whirled around to see who it was. But he would see nothing. He came across the spot where he and Rex first became enemies. He choked, trying to forget that horrid memory. He turned off in another direction. He found another familiar spot. It was where Rex made the wish.

Littlefoot stopped, unable to take his eyes off that spot. He dreaded this place. Ever since that day, he marked this place as off limits to his children. He was afraid they would come back and ask him about it. But he knew he couldn't continue running from the past. He would have to face it sooner or later.

He took in a deep breath. But not today. Today it was just too painful for him. He turned around and began to walk away. He suddenly heard a voice from behind him. It said, "Well there you are! Long time no see!"

Littlefoot turned around, looking for the sound of the voice. "What? Who's there?" He demanded, but no one made an appearance. After several minutes, he shrugged, and continued to walk back towards his home.

"Now now, where are you going?" The voice asked again, in a playful manner.

"Who is that!"

"Now come on, Littlefoot. Surely you remember me!" The voice laughed.

Then, suddenly, it dawned on Littlefoot. As he heard rustling behind him, and footsteps walking his way, he knew...he knew who it was. He couldn't believe it..but it was real. This was no dream.

Gathering his strength and courage, he turned around, and his eyes widened at what he saw. Not able to hold back a big smile, he felt tears of happiness appear in his eyes. "Rex!"

(A/N There. The story's finally over! After nearly a year of writing, it's completed. I hope you all enjoyed the story as much as I did! Stay tuned for my next fanfic!)


End file.
